The Foreign Service Journal, April 2011

What drew hundreds of thousands into the streets in Tunis, Cairo and else- where had nothing to do with anti- American provocations by al-Qaida, however. It came from young people demanding a greater chance to partic- ipate in the affairs of their govern- ments and societies. Washington policymakers and lead- ers missed this point completely, until it became too obvious to ignore. Such failures, in turn, make Congress even more skeptical about allocating ade- quate resources to diplomacy. Before the Foreign Service can adopt new strategies in pursuit of global diplomatic initiatives, State and the other foreign affairs agencies need to do much more to educate the Amer- ican public and win its “buy-in” to forge ahead in a dangerous world. This will require sustained efforts to explain to audiences throughout the country, as well as decision-makers on Capitol Hill, just how the resources they appropri- ate for our foreign affairs agencies help their constituents back home. Right now most Americans react negatively to reports of international developments. The news is often bad and leaves them with a superficial un- derstanding of diplomacy and our for- eign policy goals that can lead to calls for a new isolationism. To counter this, the department should take steps to explain foreign policy initiatives to our citizens through local world affairs councils and chambers of commerce, on college campuses, and via blogs and social media. A Challenge and an Opportunity WikiLeaks’ unauthorized publica- tion of thousands of State Department documents last fall produced a media spectacle. Many of our political lead- ers have contented themselves with shrill calls for Julian Assange’s head, or action against the Web sites and media outlets that have published the leaked materials. Others deny the leaks have done us any real damage. All these reactions are part of the conventional Washington way of cop- ing with the unexpected and the em- barrassing. Yet in the long run, the leaks may prove to be a gift to diplo- macy, if State Department leaders can figure out how to use it. For one thing, the leaks revealed how easily self-se- lecting individuals and groups can un- leash an element of chaos onto the international stage in the name of “transparency.” Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other administration fig- ures could use the disclosures to shed light on the flaws in Assange’s thinking about international relations. Specifi- cally, his claim to be advancing “trans- parency” by exposing alleged criminal acts by Washington and other govern- ments is a deliberate attempt to disrupt political elites by forcing unplanned change. State should also use the leaks to il- lustrate how often the efforts of U.S. 14 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / A P R I L 2 0 1 1 S P E A K I N G O U T In the long run, the leaks may prove to be a gift to diplomacy, if State Department leaders can figure out how to use it. T HE NEW EDITION OF Inside a U.S. Embassy IS NOW AVAILABLE . Visit www.afsa.org/inside for details. Looking for Additional Reading Suggestions? You can find the AFSA and State Department reading lists in our online bookstore, offering a wide selection of books on the Foreign Service. AFSA earns a royalty for every purchase you make on Amazon.com when you enter via the AFSA Bookstore. Visit www.afsa.org/ fs_reading_list.aspx