The Foreign Service Journal, April 2017

52 APRIL 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL AFSA NEWS AFSAHosts UTAustin Researchers In December, a team of 15 graduate students and their faculty advisers from the University of Texas at Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs traveled to Washington, D.C., as part of an ongoing AFSA-sponsored exercise to identify best practices in diplomacy. The countries under review are Brazil, China, France, Ger- many, India, Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The team spent its days meeting with a variety of stakeholders, including veteran diplomats who serve on AFSA’s Ambassadorial Advisory Council and select members of the American Academy of Diplomacy; experts from other coun- tries’ diplomatic services; think-tank representatives from the Center for Ameri- can Progress, the Brook- ings Institution, the Crisis Management Initiative and AFSA President Ambassador Barbara Stephenson (center) and former Professional Policy Issues Director Maria Livingston (fourth from right) with UT Austin graduate students and faculty advisers during their recent visit to Washington, D.C., as part of an AFSA-sponsored benchmarking exercise. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK At a reception with members of the American Academy of Diplomacy, students from UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs speak with Ambassador Kenneth Brill, about his career and experiences in the Foreign Service. AFSA/GEMMADVORAK the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars; and the Department of State’s Bureau of Human Resources. During these encounters, the students presented their preliminary findings regard- ing the various roles that diplomatic services play, i.e., messengers delivering infor- mation to the host country’s government, intermediaries whose reporting informs poli- cymaking in their respective capitals or primary foreign policy makers. Of note, early findings show that entry into every service requires a highly competitive examination process and that, while not the only country to utilize political appointees, the United States is an outlier in terms of the number of political appointees occu- pying high-level positions within its foreign ministry. The week’s meetings were designed to add to the students’ understanding of the theoretical underpin- nings and practical consid- erations of their research. Meeting participants offered constructive feedback and suggestions on where to go and with whom to inquire to find more data. Following the visit, the students returned to Austin, where they are spending their second semester incorporating the findings from their conversations and following up on new leads. They will present their final report to AFSA at the end of the spring 2017 semester. AFSA plans to use the findings to help shape a proactive advocacy agenda on Capitol Hill and with the Department of State. The overall goals of AFSA are to foster: (1) a Foreign Service that continues to attract a highly qualified cadre of career candidates; (2) an FS personnel system that ensures that those who come in are offered a work environment in which they can thrive and develop into exceptionally skilled diplomats who are equipped to lead the country’s foreign policy 20-25 years into their careers; and (3) a strong professional Foreign Service whose presence, skill and ability to deliver on behalf of Americans are unmatched in the diplomatic sphere. n