The Foreign Service Journal, April 2018

66 APRIL 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL DEFINING DIPLOMACY for YEARS Above inSILVERFOILonCover FSJ November 2012 Speaking Out: Psst! Hey, Buddy, Wanna Buy an Ambassadorship? The selling of ambassadorships is just too lucrative, and election bids too expensive, for this source of campaign funds to be given up. …. While speaking out won’t end the practice of pay-to-play ambassadorships, it is still worth doing to underline two key points: Diplomacy is a profes- sion, and Foreign Service officers are, in most cases, the most skilled practitioners of that profession. –Dennis Jett, retired FSO and former ambassador FSJ December 2012 Beyond the Fortress Embassy In a move that has surprised and pleased critics, includ- ing this author, the State Department’s Bureau of Overseas Buildings Opera- tions has recently announced a sweeping “Design Excel- lence” initiative that embraces all elements of embassy construction—from location to architect selection, design engineering and building tech- nology, sustainability and long-termmaintenance needs. The new program sees innovation as an opportunity to enhance security, still the top priority. It is the State Depart- ment’s first major statement of design policy since 1954. –Jane C. Loeffler, architectural historian and author of The Architecture of Diplomacy: Building America’s Embassies FSJ October 2014 The New Specialists Specialists have always been, well, specialized. But in recent years, under the dual drivers of terrorism and technology, their job descriptions have evolved rapidly. And yet, the more some things change, the more others stay the same. A lack of under- standing about what, exactly, specialists do has plagued the Foreign Service for the past half-century. …And that brings us to the elephant in the room: the rumored animosity between generalists and specialists. Is it a reality or a myth? –Francesca Kelly, freelance writer, former AFSA News editor, FS spouse FSJ March 2015 The Road Back to Tehran: Bugs, Ghosts and Ghostbusters No enmity is forever. It took decades, but the U.S. estab- lished diplomatic relations with the USSR and China after their revolutions when it was in both sides’interest to do so. …When we do send people back [toTehran], and when Iranian diplomatic personnel appear inWash- ington, teams of“ghostbusters”who know how to deal with the phantoms of the past should be present. –John Limbert, retired FSO and former ambassador who served as the first-ever deputy assistant secretary of State for Iran from 2009 to 2010 FSJ December 2015 Soft Power, High Impact One of U.S. foreign policy’s groundbreaking soft power initiatives is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year: the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. Though it is not widely known and operates quietly, with a cur- rent budget of $90 million, the impact of the IVLP is significant. The program has helped launch the careers of many world leaders, as well as civic leaders, while strengthening ties with our allies and advancing U.S. interests. –Robert Zimmerman, FSO FSJ June 2016 A U.S. Policy Priority: Combating Corruption There is no sugarcoating the challenge before us—corrup- tion is widespread, influencing quiet, day-to-day interac- tions, as well as high-level transactions and processes. And it is notoriously difficult to root out. Any effective campaign against corruption must be conducted not only from the top down, but also from the bottom up—not necessarily a natural modus operandi for the State Department. –William R. Brownfield, Senior FSO, assistant secretary of State for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs FSJ December 2016 Understanding Russian Foreign Policy Today The Russian people, giddy from the collapse of the corrupt, oppres- sive regime under which they had labored for generations, hungered for a normal relationship with the rest of the world and believed that the result would be quick and dramatic improvement in their lives. In 1992 I wrote that these expectations could not be met, and that a period of disil- lusionment would inevitably follow. The policy challenge for both the West and Russia was to manage that period of disillusionment so that it would lead to a more mature and well-grounded relationship, and limit the likelihood of a Russian turn toward autarky and hostility. –Raymond Smith, retired FSO and author of the 1990 cable from U.S. Embassy Moscow, “Looking into the Abyss: The Possible Collapse of the Soviet Union and What We Should Be Doing About It” AGGELER