The Foreign Service Journal, May 2020

22 MAY 2020 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SPEAKING OUT The Diplomat and the State BY CHR I STOPHER W. SM I TH Christopher W. Smith joined the Foreign Service in 2005 and is currently deputy chief of mission in Yerevan. Prior to that, he served in Tbilisi, Istanbul, Kabul (with the International Security Assistance Force), Nicosia and Kyiv. He received the Warren Christopher Award for Outstanding Achievement in Civilian Security for his work in Ukraine. Domestically, Mr. Smith has been a special assistant to the assistant secretary for arms control, and in 2019 earned a master’s degree (with highest distinc- tion) in national security and strategic studies at the U.S. Naval War College. His research there contributed to this article. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of State. D iplomacy is as old as the profes- sion of arms, but not as well understood in the United States. The sheer size of the U.S. mili- tary, when compared to the Department of State’s Foreign Service officer corps, num- bering just 8,000 officers, helps explain why Americans are more familiar with the armed forces than the U.S. Foreign Service. It is also true that military officers have beenmore active and effective in defining to the public who they are and what they represent than their diplomatic counter- parts. In particular, publications by and about military personnel have helped articulate and communicate their profes- sion’s values, meaning and code of ethics to their fellow Americans. A classic example of this type of writing is Samuel Huntington’s seminal work, The Soldier and the State. Published in 1957, the book is a foundational text in the U.S. professional military education system for the study of civil-military relations. Hun- tington’s central point is that the “modern military officer corps is a professional body, and the modernmilitary officer is a professional.” To prove this, Huntington examines military officership as a profes- sion : “a peculiar type of functional group with highly specialized characteristics.” Diplomacy is also a profession, of course, and the modern Foreign Ser- vice officer corps is a professional body. Applying Huntington’s characterization of what defines a profession to the Depart- ment of State’s Foreign Service officer corps, I will make recommendations on how the U.S. diplomatic profession can better define itself, bolster its institutional strength at a transformative period in international affairs, and improve key audiences’ understanding of the vital, unique role diplomats play in achieving U.S. national security objectives. What Is the Profession of Diplomacy? In his book, Huntington asserts that “the distinguishing characteristics of a profession as a special type of vocation are its expertise, responsibility and corporate- ness.” To apply these characteristics to the profession of diplomacy, we must first define its essential function. If we accept Huntington’s contention that the “central skill of the military officer is best summed up in Harold Laswell’s phrase ‘the man- agement of violence,’” then what is the central skill of the U.S. diplomat? The essential skill of U.S. diplomats is the management of power to achieve for- eign policy and national security objectives. Toward this end, diplomats manage the full spectrumof U.S national power— “soft” power, by representing and defend- ing our democratic and humanitarian values abroad, or managing exchange pro- grams for future foreign leaders; “sharp” power, by making the case for sanctions against states and individuals that violate U.S. and international laws; “smart” power, by supporting counterparts in foreign countries seeking to reform their political and economic institutions and fight cor- ruption in line withWestern best practices; and “hard” power, in working with the military and the interagency community to deter and, if necessary, defeat threats to the United States, its allies and partners. The unifying thread across these and many other potential examples, is the management of U.S. national power in the conduct of the nation’s foreign affairs, which is the primary function of Foreign Service officers. Acquiring Expertise The professional is an expert with specialized knowledge and skill in a significant field of human endeavor. (Their) expertise is acquired only by prolonged education and experience. —Samuel Huntington Diplomacy requires expertise, subtlety in application, and the refined ability to assess the interests and influ- ence the decisions of foreign states and the individuals through whom diplomats work to accomplish U.S. objectives. Unfortunately, there is a persistent