Creating Space for Professional Debate The Foreign Service Journal In March 1919, before the passage of the Rogers Act that marked the birth of the modern Foreign Service and before the founding of the American Foreign Service Association, a group of consular officers joined forces to print the first issue of the American Consular Bulletin— the precursor to today’s Foreign Service Journal. According to former Foreign Service Officer, FSJ Editorial Board member, and unofficial AFSA historian Harry Kopp, when the magazine was first published, “the State Department found the idea of an independent publication deeply unsettling and insisted on prepublication review [by the Secretary of State] of every issue.” Excessive concern for offending State Department sensitivities generated such a sterile publication that State eventually relinquished its requirement for prior review. Still, it would be decades before the FSJ began taking on controversial subjects and publishing constructive critiques of departmental and Foreign Service management. That began in the mid- to late 1940s and, notably, took the form of wartime essay contests on Foreign Service reform that were seriously considered by then–Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. “I can think of no more useful mine of information and recommendations,” Stettinius wrote at the time. “All of us who are interested in these essays thank you.” After changing course from being an “inspirational” publication and instead aiming for more educational goals, the publication quickly came into its own as a serious venue for constructive discourse on the profession of diplomacy. The founding editors might not recognize today’s Journal, a professional publication with editorial independence. Each edition includes an AFSA President’s Views column and a separate section (of 8 to 30 pages) called AFSA News, which shares views and news from the association and its officers. While AFSA News is overseen by the AFSA Governing Board, the rest of the magazine is guided by an editorial board and the Journal’s professional staff. This structure allows the magazine to air a variety of perspectives, cover controversial topics, and help carve a path forward for professional diplomacy. As AFSA’s flagship publication, the FSJ covers diplomacy from an insider’s perspective, through the eyes of its practitioners. Published 10 times a year both in print and online, The Foreign Service Journal has a print circulation of 14,000 and has earned numerous industry awards. Its primary audience is AFSA’s membership, the active-duty and retired diplomats and development professionals, and their families, from the foreign affairs agencies. The Journal is also a resource for those outside the Foreign Service, from members of Congress to military personnel, to other members of the interagency and foreign affairs community broadly, along with students and those considering a career in foreign affairs. AFSA deliberately makes each edition available online, with the aim of bringing knowledge and perspectives from the Foreign Service to researchers, policymakers, and the public. The FSJ Digital Archive, available at https://afsa. org/fsj-archive, includes all editions back to 1919 and is fully searchable. A gold mine for researchers, policymakers, and anyone interested in international affairs, the archive offers a detailed look at the issues of historical concern to colleagues who had a front-row seat at events now featured in our history books. Shawn Dorman, a former Foreign Service officer, has been AFSA publications director and editor in chief of the Journal since 2014. She says that more than 100 years since its inception, “the Journal continues to provide a space for the foreign affairs community to discuss and debate what works in development and diplomacy today, and to offer ideas for building the Foreign Service of tomorrow.” The U.S. Foreign Service has evolved since those long-ago days, but one thing remains constant: the FSJ still relies on practitioners to tell the story of the Foreign Service and to share important ideas and updates from their work on the ground around the world. If you are intersted in writing for us, please find our submission guidelines at https://afsa.org/fsj-authorguidelines. —Donna Scaramastra Gorman n AFSA’s Good Works Each edition during our centennial year, The Foreign Service Journal is profiling an AFSA program that advances the collective or individual interests of its members. This edition we feature ourselves! AFSA’S GOOD WORKS THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY AUGUST 2024 59
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