THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2024 69 In making his argument, Pillar highlights a clutch of episodes where hyperpolarization has inhibited the making of sound foreign policy. A particularly graphic example of offthe-rails partisanship involves the Nixon campaign’s machinations to impede the Johnson administration’s peace efforts in the lead-up to the 1968 election. Chasing Shadows: The Nixon Tapes, the Chennault Affair, and the Origins of Watergate (2015) by Ken Hughes is an excellent resource on this tale of political intrigue. Also shocking was a reported effort led by William J. Casey, Ronald Reagan’s campaign manager and soon-to-be CIA director, to convince Iran via intermediaries not to release the American hostages until after the 1980 election. October Surprise: America’s Hostages in Iran and the Election of Ronald Reagan (1991) by Gary Sick remains required reading on this. Pillar is highly critical of the previous administration, asserting: “Under Trump, the Department of State and machinery of U.S. diplomacy were more thoroughly subjugated to partisan politics than ever before.” To justify this sweeping conclusion, he cites multiple violations of the Hatch Act as determined by the Office of Special Counsel in addition to investigative findings made by the State Department’s Office of Inspector General. In discussing the Trump presidency, the author also places a spotlight on the mistreatment accorded to U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, who courageously stood in the way of a scheme targeting political opponents. Taking into account the copious amount of evidence proffered, it’s impossible to deny that all of this did inestimable damage to American diplomatic capabilities. The author makes the point that one of the risks in hyperpolitical contexts is the intrusion of foreign powers into internal American affairs. This happened in the early 1790s when Revolutionary France sent an emissary who blatantly meddled in the American political scene. More recently, we have witnessed covert efforts by Russia and other countries to interfere in U.S. elections. Pillar emphasizes that Americans must continue to be vigilant and act to prevent the exploitation of our open society by those pushing a malicious agenda. Beyond the Water’s Edge singles out prominent Americans who placed an emphasis on bipartisan collaboration. Of those cited, the contributions of Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-Mich.) are perhaps the most noteworthy. An isolationist prior to World War II, he possessed a willingness to make common cause with the Truman administration, which was crucial in forging collective support for the United Nations, the Marshall Plan, and NATO. A former government official himself, Pillar dedicates his compelling and wellwritten book “to the nonpartisan public servants who work on behalf of the entire nation.” His reminder that partisan divisiveness should “cease at the water’s edge” is a salient one and needs to be taken with the utmost gravity by foreign affairs professionals. n Joseph L. Novak is a writer based in Washington, D.C. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London and a retiree member of the American Foreign Service Association. A former lawyer, he was a Foreign Service officer for 30 years.
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