The Foreign Service Journal, June 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2019 9 LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Millions on theMove BY SHAWN DORMAN B efore introducing this month’s focus, I want to thank everyone who came by the FSJ Centennial Exhibit in the U.S. Diplomacy Center. What a boost it has been to see the proud story of the U.S. Foreign Service on display for twomonths—to be reminded that American diplomacy has been around for more than a century, through numer- ous episodes of “will diplomacy survive?” and rounds of “reformor perish.” Through it all, the essential bottom line—that our country and the interna- tional community needs U.S. diplomacy— means that it will almost certainly be with us in another 100 years. The opening of the exhibit inMarch gave us a chance to introduce people to the new open-access digital archive of all 100 years of Journals , now searchable and discoverable. On May 13, the exhibit was “de-installed” and awaits its next home, whether that be at a local university (Georgetown SFS, Elliott School, who’s first?) or military institution, or on the Hill. We’re fielding offers, so do be in touch if you have ideas. This month we take on the seemingly impossible topic of migration, putting a diplomacy lens on it and offering food for thought from three retired diplomat experts on how to approach managing an unprecedented movement of people today. FSO (ret.) Andrew Erickson starts us off with, “Migration Seizes Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. the Spotlight, ” a look at howmigration is testing national policy inmany countries, while raising issues that go to the core of the international order. Ambassador (ret.) TimCarney shares his perspective having witnessed two major refugee flows during his career— from Indochina and from the Caribbean. He takes on the governance angle, pointing to the primary role the political environ- ment in each country plays inmanaging or failing tomanage migration. Ambassador (ret.) David Robinson, formerly a deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, describes the scope and context for the migration debate, concluding that the one viable option is to take a global approach and work through international agreements to address the reality of 65 mil- lion people on the move. In Speaking Out, “Afghanistan— Rightsizing Expectations,” a recent acting deputy assistant secretary for Afghanistan shares her views on the way forward. I’mdelighted to share another story for the Diplomacy Works collection, “Avocado Diplomacy: Supporting Peace in Colombia,” from a senior FSO for USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspec- tion Service, Marc Gilkey. The Education Supplement includes two practical articles: a guide for college applicants on how to write the “Why This College?” essay, and a look at the choices to make when considering AP and IB programs. As always, we look forward to hearing from you. n