The Foreign Service Journal, May 2019

22 MAY 2019 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL challenge of pruning and cultivating on the international landscape, one of the things I regret is that those of us in lead- ership positions at the depart- ment didn’t do more to tend our own messy plot of ground and do some serious institutional weeding. Taking the initiative is important in diplomacy, but it’s equally important in bureaucratic reform. We could have done a lot more over the years to transcend our own tribal divisions, get out of our own way bureaucratically, and demonstrate the power and purpose of diplomacy. It’s much better for State to renew itself fromwithin than to allow itself to become the subject of reforms from the outside, especially reforms devised by those who do not always have the institution’s best interests in mind or understand what sets us apart. FSJ: What are the essential ingredients for a successful diplo- mat? Has that changed in recent years? WJB: I am a firm believer that the fundamentals of our craft are not all that different from what they’ve always been: smart policy judgment, language skills, and a sure feel for foreign land- scapes and domestic priorities. Diplomats are translators of the world to Washington and Washington to the world, responsible for building and fixing relations. That requires, and has always required, a nuanced grasp of history and culture, hard-nosed negotiating skill, and the capacity to convey American interests to other governments in ways that they can see as consistent with their own—or at least in ways that drive home to them the consequences of undermining us. We have tended sometimes in recent years to discount and dismiss those core skills, and to chase various fads. Don’t get me wrong. As I said in that Foreign Policy piece, we absolutely have to stay ahead of the curve and learn new skills, new tools and new issues. The revolution in technology, the existential threat posed by climate change, the growing significance of engaging not just with governments but across societies, and the central role of economic issues in foreign policy, among other chal- lenges, demand that we add new skill sets. But all that has to come on top of a solid foundation, not instead of it. FSJ : In your estimation, what are the greatest challenges facing the U.S. Foreign Service as an institution? WJB: There are lots of practical reforms that your readers understand as well as I do, frommaking the person- nel systemmore flexible, to revamping the evaluation process to make it more hon- est and useful, to doing more to support families overseas and create opportunities for two-career couples. A bigger institutional challenge, it seems tome, is making us more nimble and adept at helping to shape policy and execute it. I say this with plenty of humility, because I have been as guilty as anyone at State in sometimes slipping into passive-aggressive bureaucraticmode. But the truth is that, while individual diplomats and foreign affairs professionals can be incredibly innovative and entrepreneurial, at home and abroad, the department as an institu- tion is rarely accused of being too agile or too full of initiative. During my last months as Deputy Secretary, I remember receiving a half-page memo on a mundane policy issue—with a page and a half of clearances attached to it. Every imaginable office in the department had reviewed it, as well as a few that severely strained my imagination. A serious effort at de-layering the department, one that pushed responsibility downward in Washington and outward to ambassadors in the field, could markedly improve the workings of a bureaucracy that is too lumbering and conservative. Taking those kinds of steps, on our own steam, is also the best way to make the argument to the White House and Congress that diplomacy is worth a more central role and adequate resources. FSJ: For decades, the Foreign Service has drawn thousands of applications to join each year, with acceptance rates remaining very low, at 2 or 3 percent. We understand that the number of applica- tions for the Foreign Service Officer Test has dropped during the past two years. Does that concern you? If so, howwould you address it? WJB: That drop-off absolutely concerns me, after nearly two decades of steadily rising applications. And it’s not a mystery, unfortunately. This is an era in which diplomacy is all too often dismissed by political leaders. Public service is belittled, with government shutdowns the cavalier consequence of political conflicts. The State Department is seen by some as a den of deep-state recalci- trants. There are too many senior vacancies, and too few senior opportunities for career professionals. Painfully slow progress toward greater diversity in the Foreign Service in recent years has gone into reverse. A particularly pernicious practice has sur- Deputy Secretary of State William Burns in Kyiv at the makeshift memorial honoring slain Maidan protesters on Feb. 25, 2014. U.S.DEPARTMENTOFSTATE