The Foreign Service Journal, April 2012

Westphalia in 1648, its practitioners considered it an art rather than a pro- fession until around the turn of the 20th century. Starting then, the diplomatic serv- ices of most countries began to profes- sionalize themselves. Entry examina- tions became common and a formal Civil Service with ranks and organiza- tional structures emerged. Along sim- ilar lines, in 1924 the United States combined its consular and diplomatic services into a single career Foreign Service. Ever since Sir Ernest Mason Satow published his landmark manual, Guide to Diplomatic Practice , in 1917, nu- merous authors have focused on the conduct of foreign policy from a variety of perspectives. In contrast, tradecraft has not received much attention, even though most diplomatic services of any size have created training facilities like our own Foreign Service Institute. This relative neglect largely stems from the fact that apprenticeship has always been the primary method by which new diplomats acquire expert- ise, facilitated by a tradition of men- torship by senior colleagues. In other words, diplomats grew; they were not produced. Still, over the years formal educa- tion and training for diplomats have become increasingly widespread and comprehensive. In that tradition, re- tired Indian Ambassador Kishan S. Rana’s 21st-Century Diplomacy: A Practitioner’s Guide is a thorough, useful introduction to the profession. It not only explains the theory of diplomacy, but shows new members how to practice their craft from the first day they walk into the foreign ministry or chancery. Even as he makes an eloquent case for the continuing relevance of bilateral diplomacy in the 21st cen- tury, Ambassador Rana acknowledges the impact of the changing world environment and, especially, the technological revolution in commu- nications. But he contends that those developments call for adjustments to diplomatic approaches and practices, not wholesale change. That said, he emphasizes the real- ity that the Department of State and its counterparts in other capitals are no longer the sole custodians of A P R I L 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 67 B O O K S