The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

54 JUNE 2016 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL TheWashington Conceit In my January column I discussed the existential threats to the Foreign Service of politicization of policy and personnel, homogenization of the Foreign and Civil Services and nullification of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 and its merit-based system. In addition to the damage to the Service discussed in January, there is an equally negative impact on foreign policy itself as a result of these trends. I call it the “Washington Conceit.” The reality is that foreign policy “happens” overseas. Foreign nations make their decisions on political, eco- nomic and military interests in their own capitals—not in Washington. The human tar- gets of our public diplomacy are overseas—not inWash- ington. Obviously the projects that sustain development diplomacy are overseas—not inWashington. And, of course, practical comprehension of developments and dynamics in other countries is essential to foreign policy formulation in the first place. Many important things do happen inWashington: policy decisions on the highest-level issues (perhaps a dozen or so) are made inWashington; administrative support is cen- tered here; and our income via congressional appropria- tions is generated here. But foreign policy itself happens out there. That is why John Kerry seldom sleeps in his own bed. He is overseas where foreign policy happens. The Foreign Service is there also. If the locus of foreign policy is overseas, why are most of our human resources in Washington? There are multiple reasons, of course. But I believe there are two main drivers of this phenom- enon. First, political elites and staffers who want to estab- lish their foreign policy “chops” are largely limited to domestic assignments. Most probably prefer Washing- ton, which has no foreign language requirements and presents neither danger nor discomfort. There are about 60 politi- cally appointed Ambassadors at any one time. But there are at least 10 times that number of politically appointed posi- tions in the department from Deputy Secretaries to under secretaries to their clerical staffs. In addition there are now almost 60 special envoys, special representatives and “other senior officials” with accompanying staffs. This influx is largely composed of individuals with no experi- ence in the implementation of foreign policy at our 250 embassies and consulates overseas. The second driver is the dramatic increase in General Service positions and personnel in the State Department. Since 2009 about 1,700 additional Civil Views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the AFSA Retiree VP. Contact: boyatt@afsa.org | (202) 338-4045 RETIREE VP VOICE | BY TOM BOYATT AFSA NEWS Service officials have been hired, most as “foreign affairs officers” encumbering posi- tions in the functional and geographic bureaus. Very few have overseas foreign policy experience at posts abroad, and none are subject to worldwide availability require- ments. Taken together, the Deputy Secretaries, under secretar- ies, other political appointees, schedule B and C personnel, Civil Service employees Spe- cial Government Employees and “special representatives” and their staffs constitute the vast majority of the State Department’s staffing. They share a lack of experience in conducting diplomacy on the ground overseas. Moreover, they believe that Washington is the center of the foreign policy universe, and tend to discount the field per- spective. This “Washington Conceit” reduces the quality of our foreign policy, and that is dangerous for the national security of the United States and its citizens. n AFSA Governing Board Change Due to the frequent moves that are part of Foreign Service life, Governing Board members are frequently deployed abroad before the end of their term. State Repre- sentative Margaret Hawthorne attended her final Governing Board meeting in April, as she has been appointed Consul General and Chief of Mission COURTESYOFJASONDONOVAN tion immediately. A career diplomat, Donovan joined the Foreign Service in 1999 and served his first tours in Guatemala and Rome. From 2007 to 2009, he coordi- nated regional security initia- tives in Southeast Asia, then served as deputy economic chief in New Delhi. Recalled to Washington in 2012, Donovan served on the National Secu- rity Council for South Asia and then as the deputy director for Western Europe in State’s European Bureau. He cur- rently serves as the director of the Office of Multilateral and Global Affairs in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. n in Curacao.We thank her for her service and congratulate her on her new role. As called for by the AFSA bylaws, the Governing Board has appointed a replacement: Jason Donovan to fill this posi-