The Foreign Service Journal, July-August 2021

48 JULY-AUGUST 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL hearing, “modernize and rebuild, so our team around the world has the tools and the support they need to get the job done.” This proposal, “State U,” offers a single solution that would go a long way toward achieving those goals. Specifically, during their midlevel years, Foreign Service officers should be required to complete one year of graduate or post-graduate education in the field of international affairs or a similarly relevant discipline. The immediate benefits are multifaceted. Such training provides a better educated workforce as the competition for influence around the world intensifies; strengthens the Secretary as the provider of the State Depart- ment’s combined wisdom to the president, Congress and foreign leaders; builds leadership; prepares officers for the next level of responsibilities; develops critical and strategic thinking; and enhances diplomatic skills. Ideally, FSOs would spread out to universities around the country, benefiting from the perspectives they can gain from outside the Beltway. Geographic diversity would then provide the means to address the second and third issues: building State’s domestic constituency and engaging in subnational diplomacy. Officers assigned across the country would have the opportunity to conduct hometown diplomacy, interacting with state and local governments, schools, business groups, and think-tanks, serving as a point of contact for local communities. We Need Professional Diplomatic Education For the same reasons that the U.S. military emphasizes professional military education (PME) as an integral part of its officers’ career paths, the State Department should implement “professional diplomatic education” (PDE) for its officer cadre. Since the end of World War II, the military has used PME as an important part in the career development of its officers and, to a lesser extent, its enlisted personnel. As military representatives explained at a U.S. House of Rep- resentatives hearing in July 2009, the goals of PME are “to con- tribute to the preparation of our military officers as they progress through their careers for leadership at the tactical, operational and strategic levels.” Senior military officers are expected to have spent more than three years enrolled in professional education over the course of their careers, and usually are given time away from the field to obtain at least one master’s-level degree. To give just one example, the Marine Corps—which numbers 186,000 in all—has approximately 16,500 officer and enlisted students involved in resident programs (515 of which are one-year pro- grams) and 85,000 students involved in distance learning. The State Department does an excellent job of providing entry-level orientation, language training, area studies and deputy chief of mission/ambassadorial training; but when it comes to broader development of foreign affairs knowledge, generally speaking, we’re left to pick it up while on the job. For the State Department to win in the years ahead, its leaders need to learn more than languages and writing skills; we need a cul- ture of learning. According to the 2017 study, “Developing Diplomats: Com- paring Form and Culture Across Diplomatic Services,” Chinese diplomats are only eligible for promotion after earning credits from short-term and long-term training courses; it is a system that encourages a culture of continuous improvement within the diplomatic service. A unique feature of their professional development is that approximately 140 officers are sent to major national and international universities annually to complete a full year of graduate-level academic study. Chinese Ambassador to Washington Cui Tiankai received a postgraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Indian and Brazilian diplomats, in addition to rigorous in- career training, spend time in their countries’ various states to experience the diversity of their own country and share their experiences with constituents, the same study found. While we certainly don’t need to mimic the practices of any other country, it is apparent that our competition is pulling ahead of us in terms of formal professional development of their diplomats. Outreach to the American Public At the same time, the lack of a recognizable domestic constit- uency harms the Department of State, both in building support for policies and in the battle for resources from Congress. When Americans don’t understand what we’re doing—or how it affects them—they are less likely to support our policies and budget requests for their taxpayer dollars. Stereotypes of diplomats as For the State Department to win in the years ahead, its leaders need to learnmore than languages and writing skills; we need a culture of learning.