The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2011

S P E A K I N G O U T contacts from all over the world. After such a tour, there would be few capitals anywhere in the world without a local contact for the working diplomat. For all their faults, international or- ganizations in general, and the United Nations in particular, remain important elements of the global community. While international affairs is no longer purely a game for nation-states, they continue to be major players and inter- national organizations constitute im- portant arenas for their interaction. In addition, numerous non-state ac- tors are turning to the international fora as platforms for action. We don’t have to exaggerate their importance to ac- cept their value. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton recently declared, “In this first part of the 21st century, we increasingly are focused on networks, on multilat- eral relationships and organizations.” If she is right, and I think most of us would agree she is, then we ought to manage our participation in such fora seriously and professionally, and send experienced personnel to do the job. Edward Marks spent 40 years in the Foreign Service, including an assign- ment as ambassador to Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde. After retiring from the Service in 1995, Ambassador Marks did consulting work with the United Nations, private companies and the De- partment of Defense, and continues as a senior mentor at various military insti- tutions. He is a member of the Ameri- can Diplomacy board and a Distin- guished Senior Fellow at GeorgeMason University. Many other countries already offer their diplomatic professionals the chance to acquire a multilateral specialty, whether formally or informally. J U LY- A U G U S T 2 0 1 1 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 17