The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2013

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2013 43 because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to represent the current U.S. administration.” To Thine Own Self Be True In Positive Diplomacy (St. Martin’s Press, 1997), a former British diplomat, Sir Peter Marshall, offers useful advice for all aspiring diplomats. It is worth quoting the passage at length: “Polonius is not generally regarded as the hero of Shake- speare’s ‘Hamlet.’ But the ‘few precepts’ which he offered to his departing son Laertes bear examination. Their peroration is comprehensive: ‘This above all, to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.’ There is no better watchword for a diplomat. Being true to one’s self is the guarantee of integrity which validates and enhances one’s powers of advocacy. It is the characteristic which in the end carries most weight.” Marshall continues: “Earlier in these lectures I referred to the tendency of experts on diplomacy to draw up long and narcissistic lists of the essential qualities of diplomats. These lists can be usefully pruned. But there is one quality which cannot be omitted: integrity. It has been rightly said that there is no greater diplomatic asset available to a government than the ‘word of an honest man’ (or woman). “‘Word’ does not signify simply the utterances of the speaker. It also includes the character and commitment which lie behind them. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. ‘Word’ expresses the great sum of human aspiration and effort. In our profession it is harnessed to the world’s greatest task: building a just, prosperous and sustainable peace.” The Diplomat’s Dilemma During my Foreign Service career, I never saw a colleague take an action or argue a point to a foreign government that was out of line with administration policy. But time and again I have witnessed Foreign Service personnel challenge policies as they are being formulated in the corridors of Washington, either via cables or secure phone lines. I cannot help but consider such acts to be signs of a healthy, indeed vibrant, national diplomatic institution. Those of us in the Foreign Service will be well advised to bear in mind that the view from the field and the view back at headquarters are often sharply different, as are the priorities at each end. Indeed, the diplomat’s dilemma is that no matter how well he or she knows the host country and what policies make sense in that environment, the same is not necessarily true for what is going on back in Washington. For that reason (among others), as Malcolm Toon rightly points out, once a final decision is made by our political masters, it is the responsibility of the professional diplomat to execute it—or step aside and let another do so. n Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) Got an interesting story to tell? Want to read one? The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training is a non-gov- ernmental, nonprofit organi- zation located at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute. Founded in 1986, ADST advances understand- ing of American diplomacy and supports training of foreign affairs personnel. We sponsor a publishing program and our collection of more than 1800 oral history interviews includes such fascinating interviewees as Prudence Bushnell, Terence Todman, and Kathleen Turner. Excerpts from the collection highlight the monumental, the horrifying, the thought-provoking, and the absurd. They reflect the reality of diplomacy, warts and all, mak- ing them a great resource for foreign affairs profession- als, scholars, journalists, and anyone else who likes a great read. Check us out at www.adst.org. The purpose of a diplomat is to pursue, with every fiber of his or her being, “the national interest.”