The Foreign Service Journal, January 2009

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 21 D uring a Jan. 18, 2006, speech at Georgetown Univer- sity, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced a broad initiative that she called Transformational Diplomacy: “To work with our many partners around the world to build and sustain democratic, well-governed states that will re- spond to the needs of their people — and conduct them- selves responsibly in the international system. … Transformational diplomacy is rooted in partnership, not paternalism — in doing things with other people, not for them. We seek to use America’s diplomatic power to help foreign citizens to better their own lives, and to build their own nations, and to transform their own futures.” The Secretary’s Georgetown ad- dress left many diplomats scratch- ing their heads: Well, if this is new, then what were we doing before? Some have called it just the latest bumper sticker in a slogan-rich po- litical environment, doomed to pass into oblivion once the admin- istration ends. This response from an FSO in a TD position was typi- cal: “I’ve never really understood how transformational diplomacy was any different from what we were doing, or were supposed to be doing, anyway.” Even some of those closely involved in the process agree that transformational diplomacy as a new idea was oversold. Marc Grossman—while serving in both a man- agement position as director general (2000-2001) and a policy position as under secretary for political affairs (2001-2005) for Secretary of State Colin Powell — may have laid the groundwork for the Secretary’s TD concept with his calls for FSOs to stop reading tea leaves and get out and do something. Sec. Powell’s tenure was marked by similar calls for more emphasis on action and less on reporting. One aspect of TD is as basic as “getting out from be- hind the desk” and engaging with people beyond the for- eign ministries and the capital cities around the world. But what Foreign Service officer chose a diplomatic career to sit behind a desk? Who thought, I want to go through the difficult and absurdly lengthy entry process so I can go to an exotic foreign country and never leave the embassy? The power of transformational diplomacy may lie in that “what we were supposed to be doing” element. Over the past decade, what diplomats have actually been doing has been increasingly dictated by demands fromWashington, mandatory reporting for Congress and requirements for supporting official visitors. Missing resources and staffing shortages have forced many diplomats to spend more of their time confined within embassy walls. One piece of TD is actually outreach and public diplomacy activities by an- other name. Similarly, the program management element of TD sounded a lot like what USAID of- ficers already do and what State FSOs are not trained to do. But it also raised the possibility that State political, economic and pub- lic diplomacy officers might have access to new sources of funding that would be welcome and useful. One element of TD, however, that focuses on the role of U.S. diplomats in transforming other countries, helping them be more democratic, has been met with concern in some places. In China, for instance, use of the word “transformational” raises hackles. The sentiment that host countries may not welcome American efforts to trans- form them is shared by many foreign governments, and so TD officers define the term based on the dynamics of the country in which they serve. As Anny Ho, the American Presence Post officer for Zhengzhou, has suggested in the China context: “Stay clear of the terms American Presence Post and transfor- mational diplomacy. The Chinese cringe at hearing this (they don’t appreciate even the hint of being transformed). Instead, if TD gets brought up, explain it in terms of how we (the State Department) are transforming ourselves and the way we do business, by expanding out beyond the cities where our embassy and consulates are based so that we can better understand our host country as a whole.” Sounds like good advice. — Shawn Dorman F O C U S Some have called it just the latest bumper sticker in a slogan-rich political environment, doomed to pass into oblivion once the administration ends. Transformational Diplomacy: What’s New?