The Foreign Service Journal, February 2012

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 5 My November 2010 column centered on the question of professional ethics and codes of conduct for diplomats. In it, I suggested that it was past time for diplomacy and develop- ment professionals to do what other professions, including the military, have already done: namely, to develop standards of professional con- duct and codes of conduct specific to our profession and organizational cul- ture. Last month’s column touched on the strong esprit de corps that charac- terizes the Marine Corps and con- tributes to its ability to “bat well above its weight” in terms of a significant voice in national security affairs. I sug- gested there might be lessons there for our diplomatic and development serv- ices. It seems clear that codes of profes- sional conduct and esprit de corps are related issues, in that they are both es- sential ingredients for the promotion of professionalism in public service, in general, and diplomatic service, in par- ticular. There seems to be growing awareness that ethics is not as well un- derstood as many assume, and that it is therefore incumbent on professions and organizations to make clear how the ethical practitioner is expected to act. While exploring this issue for my ini- tial column on the subject, I cited a 1958 congressional resolution outlining a “Code of Ethics for U.S. Government Service” and summarized its main points. Recently, I came across the United Kingdom Civil Service Code, last updated in 2006. The points in the 1958 doc- ument are succinctly articulated in the U.K. code. They define the four core values of the Civil Service as integrity (putting the obligations of public serv- ice above personal interests), honesty (being truthful and open), objectivity (basing your advice and decisions on rigorous analysis of the evidence) and impartiality (acting solely according to the merits of the case and serving equally well governments of different political persuasions). The U.K. code explains clearly how these four core val- ues are to guide the conduct of British civil servants, specifying in plain Eng- lish how they must and must not be- have, with relevant examples. The question is whether the U.S. Foreign Service can apply these values to formulate clear “do’s and don’ts” for professional diplomats and develop- ment experts, or whether we need dif- ferent or more elaborate criteria. Our foreign affairs agencies seem to have notional values that we espouse from time to time, but these have not been set down in specific codes of ethical and professional conduct. Ethics is more than simple compli- ance with rules. Taken seriously, it en- genders values-based thought and be- havior, as the Institute for Global Ethics explains in its promotional and training materials. First and foremost, a code of professional ethics defines the be- havior expected of each person work- ing in that profession. It guides individuals in doing their jobs, protects them from undue outside pressure, helps explain the function of the work, enables the employee to interact with others, establishes the expectations for members of the career, and enhances the professionalism of the institution. With this inmind, corporations, fed- eral, state and local governments, the military, professional associations and nonprofits, both here and abroad, are all developing programs and tools to guide their employees in making val- ues-based choices. Moreover, global changes are bring- ing new ethical issues into play, affect- ing diplomacy and development like all other professions. Today, numerous professional organizations offer advi- sory services to address ethical ques- tions and expertise on developing effective codes of ethics and training to apply values-based decision-making. I would like to see AFSA begin a process of developing a code of ethics for the Foreign Service, taking advan- tage of such outside expertise. Please let me know what you think by writing me at Johnson@afsa.org. P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS Essential Ingredients for a Professional Career Foreign Service B Y S USAN R. J OHNSON