The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2011

S P E A K I N G O U T track for multilateral diplomacy. How to manage this in career pat- terns, assignments and training I will leave to the folks in personnel manage- ment. Most, if not all, Foreign Service generalists can lay claim to more than one specialty, generally a combination of area and functional expertise (e.g., economic officers with hard-language training and Latin America service). There is no reason why similar as- signment patterns cannot be arranged for extensive international organization service and training. Such expertise can be achieved fairly easily, if we wish. The most important change would be to provide the possibility of multiple tours to selected and interested offi- cers, beginning at a fairly junior level. The first tour should be followed at some point not long after with another assignment to a multilateral institution —and then, if the officer’s career is suf- ficiently successful, a senior appoint- ment in due course. Along the way, appropriate academic study could be provided, as is done for other profes- sional specialties. These assignments could be inter- spersed with assignments in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, of course, as well as appropriate training or education, either at the Foreign Service Institute or in graduate-level coursework at a university. Also desir- able would be relevant assignments to other departments or agencies, such as the Treasury Department or the U.S. Agency for International Development. Playing Catch-Up There is nothing very radical about this proposal. Many countries already offer their diplomatic professionals the chance to acquire a multilateral spe- cialty, whether formally or informally. Those of us who have served in U.S. missions to international organizations have long noted, somewhat ruefully, the “local” expertise of many of our counterparts. We usually have to play catch-up, learning on the run about the organization in question and the history of any specific subject on its agenda. Just like countries, international or- ganizations have their own local cul- tures; understanding them makes life easier and success more likely. Prece- dent and local history are extremely im- portant in international organizations because so many of the matters under consideration have very long lives; in fact, one is tempted to say, eternal ones! Furthermore, as we all know, the operating procedures in international organizations are complicated, if not es- oteric. It therefore behooves us all the more to become conversant with them. After all, we respect, and operate within, local custom everywhere we are assigned. Why not do so with interna- tional organizations, as well? It is also useful to note that for the diplomatic corps of many countries, an assignment to an international organi- zation — particularly United Nations headquarters in New York City— is ex- tremely sought after. Because such postings are considered assignments for high-flyers, experience with interna- tional organizations is common among senior officials of many countries. This is especially true for middle- sized and smaller countries. Because they tend to have fewer overseas mis- sions, the opportunities to pursue their national interests offered by interna- tional organizations are seen as ex- tremely valuable. One result of this perspective is the generally high quality of foreign diplomats posted to places like the U.S. Mission to the United Na- tions in New York. Fringe Benefits This aspect of international organi- zations creates another potential op- portunity for American diplomats. The country representatives based at the headquarters of any international or- ganization, especially those in New York, Geneva or Vienna, constitute unique conglomerations of professional diplomats. They are, in essence, the equivalent of the diplomatic corps in a national capital — but they operate without the distraction of dealing with a host government. The milieu of multilateral agencies inherently requires extensive interac- tion with colleagues. Representatives at all levels spend enormous amounts of time with each other: in formal and informal meetings, in the fabled corri- dors and, particularly when the organ- ization is in session, in almost endless, work-related social activities. A national representative to a major international organization therefore gets to know many of his or her coun- terparts from other countries quite well. At the end of the assignment, an American representative leaves with Postings at multilateral organizations could be interspersed with assignments to the Bureau of International Organization Affairs or other agencies. 16 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 1 1