The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 13 Foreign Service Journal Editorial: New Opportunity for the Service T he announcement by President Lyndon Johnson that he was conferring new authority on the Secretary of State to super- vise and direct the interdepartmental overseas activities of the entire government is of major significance for the Foreign Service … and, we venture to say, the majority of [the Journal ’s] readers welcome this long-overdue step which is so necessary to give effect to the primacy of national policy, as the President sees it, over the specialized inter- ests of the various agencies of the government. The internal reorganization with the President’s direc- tive, introduces the concept of Country Director. It is designed to provide the Secretary and Under Secretary with the backing they need to staff the new groups and by this means carry out their new mandate. The creation of the post of Country Director provides a focus for Wash- ington backing for country overseas programs. In the past there was a division between the responsibility of the desk officer for these activities and the authority to carry them out, which more often lay at the Office Director or Deputy Assistant Secretary level. With the proper rank, authority and familiarity with the situation, the Country Director should be in a position to provide leadership over country programs, government-wide. It is to be hoped that the days are past when major policy decisions are discussed without the respon- sible and knowledgeable officer being present. Although the authority and machinery now appears to be established, the system will depend for its effective operation on the vigor and ability with which it is admin- istered. It is hoped that this momentum can be contin- ued, for the specter of interdepartmental groups which degenerated into formalistic paper mills is all too familiar to most of us. The success of the system will depend on the leadership which the Department and the Foreign Service give to it. 50 Years Ago 230-strong case study library; (2) policy and research, by convening a series of working groups at ISD to explore diplomatic challenges, make recom- mendations for policy-makers and begin a new Ph.D. fellowship program; and, (3) public outreach, by enhancing the Washington Post ’s popular and acces- sible blog The Monkey Cage, which high- lights social science research in a foreign affairs context. Most importantly, the grant signifies a huge (and necessary) investment in the study of diplomacy and diplomatic history. The Journal featured ISD’s case stud- ies website as the “Site of the Month” in November. —Shannon Mizzi, Editorial Assistant Pakistani Students Challenge Extremism for P2P Win I n February, a group of students from the University of Lahore was declared the winner of a competition sponsored by the State Department, Department of Homeland Security, Facebook and EdVenture Partners called “Peer to Peer: Challenging Extremism.” Forty-five teams from universities in 17 countries participated in the competi- tion, with the goal of creating a social media outreach campaign to reach young people who are vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist organizations. Each teamwas given $2,000 to design and launch a programon their university campuses and in their home communities. The winning campaign, “FATE: From Apathy to Empathy,” is a multiplatform consciousness-raising effort that plays out on social media, using graphics, music and a peace pledge, which students can sign in solidarity against violence. The FATE team also held live events, such as concerts and workshops, to edu- cate young people over the past several months. The teamwon $5,000 to further expand their campaign. According to Assistant Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan, the goal of the peer-to-peer (P2P) cam- paigns is tomake young people feel less isolated and give them a sense of purpose. “We live in a country that deals with terror on a daily basis. But there’s a tre- mendous amount of apathy toward that violence,” Mashal Imran, a member of the winning team, said.