The Foreign Service Journal, March 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | MARCH 2022 27 bilateral relationships. We need to think about newways of elevat- ing the focus on functional issues within the department, including the ways we incentivize people to work on those issues and howwe integrate functional expertise at our posts overseas. We likewise need to do more to integrate bilateral, regional and multilateral diplomacy. And we need better mechanisms to pull the department together, so that regional, functional, bilateral and multilateral diplomacy can be combined to great- est effect. That will be especially important when it comes to strategic competition with China. That’s why the Secretary asked Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman to lead a cross-department structure on China to ensure a more comprehensive approach with all stakeholders at the table. We must also become an institution that does a better job of capturing lessons fromour work. That’s why the Secretary asked Career Ambassador Dan Smith to lead an After Action Review of the department’s efforts in implementing the end of the U.S. mili- tary mission in Afghanistan. We’re also committed to providing our team with the latest technology and tools so they can collaborate more effectively and securely and have better access to data. And we intend to work with Congress to update our risk management practices so our team in the field can get out more to conduct the kind of on-the-ground, in-person diplomacy that is essential to advance U.S. goals. This is often where the most innovation happens. Finally, we need to look at workforce reforms that help incentiv- ize initiative and innovation. The Secretary has been clear the agenda he laid out in October is the floor, not the ceiling, of our ambitions. We have a window before us to make historic, lasting change. And we are determined to seize it, with the partnership and support of the entire department. FSJ: When you were outside government you wrote a series of reports on “foreign policy for themiddle class.” One year into the administration, how has that vision translated into prac- tice?What is the department’s role? Director Ahmed: President Biden and Secretary Blinken have said our foreign policy must deliver for Americans at home. On one level, that certainly includes the important work the State Depart- ment has always done—andmust continue to do—to promote our alliances; protect Americans from terrorism, proliferation and armed conflict; and preserve access to the key arteries of global commerce. This is not a prescription for retrenchment, isolation- ismor unilateralism. Strong and confident American leadership abroad, working in lockstep with our allies and partners, is essen- tial to advance the well-being of the American people at home. At the same time, if we’re not disciplined about understanding which conflicts or crises around the world are truly integral to U.S. secu- rity and prosperity, we can end up in situations of U.S. overreach or overextension that ultimately don’t produce benefits—andmay entail costs—at home and come at the expense of focus on other issues that are arguably more important to Americans’ well-being. So, at its core, a foreign policy for the middle class implies a fundamental reorientation of our diplomacy to focus more on the global issues that have the most direct impact on Americans’ livelihoods and well-being, including addressing the climate crisis and helping American businesses and workers thrive in the green economy; protecting critical infrastructure, data and supply chains; promoting U.S. technological leadership; push- ing back on coercive economic practices that disadvantage U.S. workers and businesses; and anticipating and heading off global developments that could precipitate catastrophic shocks to the U.S. economy. And there is nothing more urgent or important right now to Americans’ well-being than our work to end the COVID-19 pandemic around the world. Not by coincidence, these are the issues that underpin the Secretary’s modernization effort, including our work to build our capacity and expertise in cyber security and emerging technolo- gies, climate, global health, economics andmultilateral diplomacy. And it’s why the Secretary is committed to enhancing our domestic travel and engagement. We need to get beyond the Beltway and engage more regularly with governors, mayors, community lead- ers, small andmedium-sized business owners and local unions, among others, to ensure their lived experiences informour sense of the national economic interests we are advancing abroad. In terms of how a foreign policy for the middle class plays out in practice, you’ve seen this in new initiatives like the U.S.-E.U. Trade and Technology Council, which provides us a dedicated forum to shape the most important rules, norms and standards on trade and technology, so that American workers and busi- nesses can compete in the 21st-century digital economy on a fair, level playing field. You’ve seen it in our work to bring together well over 100 countries to secure a global minimum tax to end the race to the bottom on corporate tax rates. And it’s reflected in U.S. leadership on climate and COVID-19. n Beyond these specific initiatives, we’re looking at creating a culture of innovation across the department. —Salman Ahmed