AFSA NEWS FAS VP VOICE | BY EVAN MANGINO AFSA NEWS Contact: mangino@afsa.org Toward a Culture of Dissent Ever since I realized that as the new AFSA VP for the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) I’d have the opportunity to opine publicly on a topic of my choice, I kept circling back to “dissent,” which I believe is essential for healthy societies and institutions of all types. I also believe AFSA’s awards for constructive dissent by members of the Foreign Service, State’s Open Forum, and the Dissent Channel all send a powerful signal that an open exchange of views is a net positive for U.S. foreign affairs. It will come as no surprise to my FAS colleagues or to my new AFSA colleagues that I’m a fan of dissent. I can hold my peace, but I’m not shy about speaking up, let alone disagreeing, more often than most. Maybe it’s my New Jersey upbringing, my need to process ideas aloud (sorry, introverts), or my impatience with perceived inefficiency and inconsistency—I may also just be an arrogant crank. Without elevating arrogance to a virtue, I think a justifiable sliver of arrogance is in all dissent. It is brassy to suggest: I’ve got a better read on this situation; I’m seeing something I think you’re missing; or I’ve got a better path forward. If accumulated knowledge and experience leads to that kind of thought, however, then I hope all of us would voice that dissent with an openness to opposing views. I’d like to see more regular exchanges of opposing views at post. But I’m concerned that the reason we don’t see more dissent is because the culture we have built—and in which we operate as foreign affairs professionals—is not as supportive of dissent as it should be. Some people don’t feel comfortable disagreeing at all, and that’s a personal trait our professional culture is unlikely to overcome. But some of us fear we wouldn’t be supported by our agencies or by our supervisory chain if we offer a dissenting view. Others don’t believe their dissent would meaningfully move a conversation or a policy in a different direction. These latter explanations reflect a corrosive lack of trust and apathy among my colleagues that I can’t accept. For me, dissent is like my yogic practice, and I try to cultivate dissent among those with whom I serve— direct reports, peers, and supervisors alike. True, it makes me feel like less of a crank when others speak up alongside me. But I also advocate for dissent because I believe it makes my agency a better organization and a better place to work. The more we engage in constructive dissent, the more likely we will carry a dissenting skill set into leadership roles where we have a greater impact on and responsibility in shaping our agency culture. Even if AFSA members don’t avail themselves of formal dissent mechanisms, the established dissent infrastructure contributes to an enabling environment for daily forms of dissent—the kind of dissent that leads not just to better foreign policies but also to better operational policies, and to a healthier discourse among and within our teams. I’ll confess—absolution not guaranteed—that I had been practicing dissent in the Foreign Agricultural Service for nearly two decades before I knew about AFSA’s Constructive Dissent Awards. And as a lifelong dissenter, I was comforted to learn that an organization I belong to values dissent sufficiently to have established awards for it. Serving as an AFSA VP, I know that AFSA not only supports dissent but also has my back when I choose to stand up in defense of my views, principles, and informed perspectives. How, and how often, we choose to dissent is ultimately up to us, but I deeply appreciate the role AFSA plays in promoting a culture of dissent. Amelia Shaw’s September 2015 FSJ article, “Deconstructing Dissent,” and Sara Berndt and Holly Holzer’s December 2023 FSJ cover story, “The State Department Dissent Channel: History and Impact,” are excellent primers on dissent. Holzer’s ABCDs of dissenting well should be required reading for all FSOs and could provide a shortcut around learning humility the hard way. n THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2025 53 FSLRB Appointments Congratulations to the two new members of the Foreign Service Labor Relations Board (FSLRB) appointed on Nov. 4 by FSLRB Chair Susan Tsui Grundmann under procedures prescribed by the Foreign Service Act of 1980. The three-member board decides labormanagement disputes between AFSA and the Foreign Service agencies, including deciding negotiability appeals and appeals of implementation disputes decided by the Foreign Service Grievance Board (FSGB). The new members are Garber A. Davidson Jr., a retired Foreign Service officer and former chair of the FSGB, for a three-year term, and Cheryl M. Long, a retired judge and former member of the FSGB, for a two-year term. Davidson and Long replaced outgoing members Amb. (ret.) Dennis K. Hays and Amb. (ret.) Thomas J. Miller. AFSA thanks them all for their service. n NEWS BRIEF
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