P R O C L A I M LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND UNTO ALL THE INHABITANTS T H E R E O F PLUS: · A REEMERGING SPOILS SYSTEM · THE COSTS OF DISMANTLING VOA · PD ON THE FRONT LINES OF MIGRATION PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN FOREIGN SERVICE ASSOCIATION JULY–AUGUST 2026 Recasting U.S. Diplomacy
Calling All Foreign Service Authors Bonus Opportunity Spread the word about your book, whether already published or coming soon, by placing an ad in the FSJ! We are o ering advertising space at discounted rates for all books and authors, whether featured or not, in this special edition. For more details, contact Advertising Manager Molly Long at long@afsa.org. We look forward to sharing your book with the foreign a airs community. —The FSJ Team iStockphoto/Bulat Silvia SUBMIT YOUR BOOKS BY AUGUST 21! The Foreign Service Journal is now welcoming submissions for “In Their Own Write,” our popular November-December focus highlighting the literary talent of the Foreign Service community. Share your works of fiction and nonfiction in time for holiday shopping. To be featured, your book must be published between July 1, 2025, and September 1, 2026, and be available for purchase by September 1, 2026. It must not have been included in a previous FSJ collection. Current and former members of the Foreign Service and their immediate family members are eligible to submit a book for consideration. AFSA members will be given priority. Please visit https://bit.ly/ITOW-Author-Form to share all the details about your book. We will craft your ITOW entry based on your responses on this form. We can feature only one book per author, so if you published multiple books last year, let us which one you’d like to promote and list the other titles in your bio note. Please fill out the form and send us a copy of the book (either in print or, preferably, digital format) by Friday, August 21. Digital books can be sent to journal@afsa.org, subject line: ITOW + Author Name. Print copies should be addressed to: Editor, In Their Own Write AFSA/The Foreign Service Journal 2101 E St. NW Washington, DC 20037 Questions? Email us at InTheirOwnWrite@afsa.org.
4 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL 20 Unfinished Work: Why a Healthy Democracy Is Essential to Our Foreign Policy By Jennifer L. Davis 25 A National Security Council Out of Balance By Kelly Adams-Smith 30 When America Falls Silent: The Strategic Costs of Dismantling VOA By Elez Biberaj July-August 2026 Volume 103, No. 4 ON THE COVER: Design by Nathan Putens. 34 Are We Seeing the Reemergence of the Spoils System? By Steve Adams-Smith 38 The Invention of U.S. Diplomacy By Tom Selinger 42 The Past Is Never Past: How State Historians Tell America’s Foreign Policy Story By Lynette Evans-Tiernan and James Graham Wilson FOCUS ON THE U.S. IN THE WORLD AT 250
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 5 FEATURE 46 Making Truth Travel Faster Than Lies: Public Diplomacy at the Front Lines of Migration By Andrea Stanford FS HERITAGE 49 The Trent Affair: When Diplomacy Saved the Union By Richard Hinman 49 53 A FSA Honors Fallen Diplomats on FS Day, Without State 53 A FSA Condemns May 5 Reduction in Force 54 State VP Voice—Fidelity, Dissent, and Hypocrisy 55 U SAID Representative Voice— How to Represent the Foreign Service Now 56 Retiree VP Voice— Steadfast at 250 56 AFSA Opposes Proposed Government-wide NDA 59 A Lasting Investment in Diplomacy 59 A FSA Governing Board Meetings, March 18 and April 15, 2026 60 A FSA’s General Counsel Leaves Lasting Legacy 64 AFSA Welcomes New Hires 64 A FSA’s Road Scholar Program Returns to D.C. 65 AFSA Raises Alarm over EER Process Integrity 65 Foreign Service Departures AFSA NEWS THE OFFICIAL RECORD OF AFSA PERSPECTIVES 7 President’s Views Stand with AFSA By John “Dink” Dinkelman 9 Letter from the Editor Diplomacy Beyond 250 By Shawn Dorman 18 Speaking Out Shaping the Next 250 Years of U.S. Diplomacy: Vision, Humility, and Action By Katherine Ntiamoah 84 Reflections A Birth on the Shore of the Toliara Lagoon By Freda White-Henry 86 Local Lens Samarkand, Uzbekistan By Michael Longhauser DEPARTMENTS 10 Letters 12 Talking Points 67 In Memory 77 Books 53 MARKETPLACE 80 Real Estate 82 Index to Advertisers 83 Classifieds
$42,000 — recovered this year for one member overcharged on health insurance since 2003 4,600 — legal inquiries answered in the past year—roughly 65 every week 5 — active federal court cases on behalf of 14,000+ Foreign Service members We’ve been doing this work a long time—$6 million recovered for members in the meritorious service increase cases alone, 1,450 colleagues made whole. And if you served at USAID—your agency was taken from you. Your association wasn’t. A MEMBER IMPACT REPORT AFSA. Your career, covered. AFSA Delivers. Renew today at afsa.org/membership Here’s the proof: “We’re an insurance policy. And an inexpensive insurance policy.” —Sharon L. Papp, former AFSA General Counsel Six members had their annuity exceptions rescinded and would be separated in weeks without pensions. AFSA filed grievances. State granted interim relief, and all six are still on the rolls, working toward the retirement they earned. That happened this year. It happens every year. “Like lawyers, soldiers, and doctors, we don’t stop being professionals when we retire.” —Steve Liston, FS alum “After losing my dream job as an FSO with USAID, life felt pretty grim. But AFSA helps me to stay connected to a community and work that I loved.” —AFSA member
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 7 Stand with AFSA BY JOHN “DINK” DINKELMAN John “Dink” Dinkelman is the president of the American Foreign Service Association. PRESIDENT’S VIEWS This edition of the Journal marks the halfway point in my two-year term as AFSA president and one year since the State Department began the largest reduction in force (RIF) in its history. I was one of the unlucky 1,350 taken off the job for no reason other than being assigned to the wrong office at the wrong time during the “reorganization.” While most of the July 11, 2025, RIF cohort was unceremoniously and expeditiously separated in early September, I am sure that none of us could have anticipated it would take almost 10 months for the department to cut the rest of us loose as they finally did on May 5. Also, I could never have imagined that I’d be in such an adversarial, acrimonious, antagonistic relationship with the organization to which I had devoted my entire professional life. Nevertheless, here we are. Like so much else over the past year, the unimaginable now seems to be the norm. I sat down to write this column just after a phone call with a member of the State Department’s exit interview team. I had the opportunity to sum up my 38-year Foreign Service career in a 10-minute call that will, undoubtedly, be of no interest to decision-makers who no longer listen to their workforce. Kudos to my interviewer, however, who was prudent enough to skip the question on what I thought was the main factor leading to my departure. I suspect their team learned quickly that, at least in the case of an involuntary separation, such a question is best left unasked. So it is that far too many important questions remain unasked in the present environment. Which is precisely why AFSA will ask them. What We Will Do AFSA will not only continue to serve as the voice of an increasingly silenced Foreign Service but will also continue to be the “adult in the room” and the “port in the storm” while the leadership we once counted on to defend the institution has now joined in the attack on it. In addition, AFSA will continue to: • call attention to an Employee Evaluation Report (EER) fiasco at State that is harming (almost) everyone in the Service; • catalogue the effects of an opaque bidding process that—notwithstanding the tremendous loss of personnel from the Foreign Service ranks over the past year— seems to lack enough positions for those surviving the purges of 2025; and • push for the changes that will best serve a professional, nonpartisan Foreign Service as efforts on the Hill to reform the Foreign Service Act of 1980 move forward. Simply put, you can rest assured that AFSA will continue to say in the open what you can no longer say even in private. We will continue to stand with you and stand up for you. Are You with Us? The critical question now is: Will you stand with AFSA as we stand up for you? When payroll and annuity deductions were discontinued in 2025, thousands of you stepped up to pay dues directly online. Now, one year later, membership is up for renewal again. If you have not taken the step to “set it and forget it” through an automatic payment option, please do this now. Make the decision to stay with AFSA to ensure that we can support you and defend the Foreign Service—our Foreign Service. We are stronger together. In addition, you all should have received notification of a referendum we are conducting. Among the items for your consideration is a request for a one-time increase of all member dues by 5 percent. As our membership rolls declined, our expenses—including legal costs to fight off multiple attacks on our members and our Service—increased exponentially, and we need your support. We must maintain AFSA’s membership services and communication, congressional liaison, and public media engagement at present levels. Ballots will go out on July 8, and I solicit your affirmative vote on this question by no later than 8 a.m. ET on July 21. By voting yes, you ensure an additional $200,000 for AFSA’s budget each year, an average of about $16 per member annually. We’re in this for the long haul, folks. Rest assured that AFSA isn’t going anywhere. With your support, we’ll keep up this fight as long as needed. Stay with us! n
8 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL www.sfiprogram.org SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY INITIATIVE SFI-01268 Certified Sourcing Editor in Chief, Director of Publications Shawn Dorman: dorman@afsa.org Deputy Editor Donna Gorman: gorman@afsa.org Senior Editor Susan Brady Maitra: maitra@afsa.org Managing Editor Kathryn Owens: owens@afsa.org Associate Editor Mark Parkhomenko: parkhomenko@afsa.org Business Development Manager— Advertising and Circulation Molly Long: long@afsa.org Art Director Caryn Suko Smith Editorial Board Lynette Behnke, Co-Chair Hon. Jennifer Z. Galt, Co-Chair hannah draper, Gov. Bd. Liaison Kelly Adams-Smith Ben East Mathew Hagengruber Steven Hendrix Katherine Ntiamoah Peter Reams Dan Spokojny Lisa Nuch Venbrux THE MAGAZINE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS PROFESSIONALS The Foreign Service Journal (ISSN 0146-3543), 2101 E Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20037-2990 is published bimonthly by the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), a private, nonprofit organization. Material appearing herein represents the opinions of the writers and does not necessarily represent the views of the Journal, the Editorial Board, or AFSA. Writer queries and submissions are invited, preferably by email. The Journal is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photos, or illustrations. Advertising inquiries are invited. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. AFSA reserves the right to reject advertising that is not in keeping with its standards and objectives. The appearance of advertisements herein does not imply endorsement of goods or services offered. Opinions expressed in advertisements are the views of the advertisers and do not necessarily represent AFSA views or policy. Journal subscription: AFSA member–$20, included in annual dues; student–$30; others–$50; Single issue–$4.50. For foreign surface mail, add $18 per year; foreign airmail, $36 per year. Periodical postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. Indexed by the Public Affairs Information Services (PAIS). Email: journal@afsa.org Phone: (202) 338-4045 Fax: (202) 338-8244 Web: www.afsa.org/fsj Address Changes: member@afsa.org © American Foreign Service Association, 2026 PRINTED IN THE USA Postmaster: Send address changes to AFSA, Attn: Address Change 2101 E Street NW Washington DC 20037-2990 GOVERNING BOARD President John Dinkelman: dinkelman@afsa.org Secretary Sue Saarnio: saarnio@afsa.org Treasurer John K. Naland: naland@afsa.org State Vice President Rohit Nepal: nepal@afsa.org USAID Vice President Randy Chester: chester@afsa.org FCS Vice President Jay Carreiro: jay.carreiro@afsa.org FAS Vice President Vacant Retiree Vice President Hon. John O’Keefe: okeefe@afsa.org Full-Time State Representative Vacant State Representatives hannah draper: draper@afsa.org Donald Emerick: emerick@afsa.org Connor Ferry-Smith: ferry-smith@afsa. org Christina Higgins: higgins@afsa.org Stephanie Straface: straface@afsa.org USAID Representative Austan Mogharabi: mogharabi@afsa.org FCS Alternate Representative Joshua Burke: burke@afsa.org FAS Alternate Representative Vacant USAGM Representative Mariama D. Crandall: crandall@afsa.org APHIS Representative Joe Ragole: ragole@afsa.org Retiree Representatives Hon. Michael Kirby: kirby@afsa.org Julie Nutter: nutter@afsa.org STAFF Executive Director Ásgeir Sigfússon: sigfusson@afsa.org Executive Assistant to the President Jahari Fraser: fraser@afsa.org Office Coordinator Therese Thomas: therese@afsa.org PROFESSIONAL POLICY ISSUES AND ADVOCACY Director of Professional Policy Issues Lisa Heller: heller@afsa.org Director of Advocacy Kim Sullivan: sullivan@afsa.org Advocacy and Policy Manager Sean O’Gorman: ogorman@afsa.org FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION Director, HR and Operations Cory Nishi: cnishi@afsa.org Controller Kalpna Srimal: srimal@afsa.org Member Accounts Specialist Ana Lopez: lopez@afsa.org IT and Infrastructure Coordinator Aleksandar “Pav” Pavlovich: pavlovich@afsa.org COMMUNICATIONS AND OUTREACH Director of Communications and Outreach Nikki Gamer: gamer@afsa.org Deputy Director of Communications and Outreach Nadja Ruzica: ruzica@afsa.org Online Communications Manager Jeff Lau: lau@afsa.org Communications and Marketing Manager Hannah Harari: harari@afsa.org MEMBERSHIP Director, Programs and Member Engagement Christine Miele: miele@afsa.org Membership Operations Coordinator Mouna Koubaa: koubaa@afsa.org Counselor for Retirees and Alumni Brian Himmelsteib: himmelsteib@afsa.org Manager, Membership and Events Glenn Stanton: stanton@afsa.org Program Coordinator Indigo Stegner: stegner@afsa.org OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL General Counsel Raeka Safai: safai@afsa.org Deputy General Counsel Neera Parikh: parikh@afsa.org Senior Staff Attorney Zlatana Badrich: badrich@afsa.org Labor Management Coordinator Patrick Bradley: bradley@afsa.org Senior Grievance Counselor Heather Townsend: townsend@afsa.org Grievance Counselors Ed White: white@afsa.org Brian Himmelsteib: himmelsteib@afsa.org Attorney Adviser Erin Kate Brady: brady@afsa.org Labor Management Counselor Colleen Fallon-Lenaghan: colleen@afsa.org FOREIGN SERVICE CONTACTS www.afsa.org
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 9 Shawn Dorman is the editor of The Foreign Service Journal. LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Diplomacy Beyond 250 BY SHAWN DORMAN As the United States commemorates 250 years of independence, here at the Journal we turn our attention to a less celebrated but equally vital founding story: the birth of American diplomacy. In 1776 the Continental Congress sent Benjamin Franklin to Paris to win the support that would be critical in securing the new nation’s independence and establishing its place in the world. That mission launched a tradition of diplomatic service that continues today. Here, we present an outstanding selection of articles from some of the best (now former) diplomacy practitioners that look at the state and evolution of U.S. diplomacy from various vantage points. FS alum and FSJ Editorial Board member Katherine Ntiamoah opens the conversation with a Speaking Out on “Shaping the Next 250 Years of U.S. Diplomacy: Vision, Humility, and Action.” Senior FSO (ret.) Jennifer Davis leads the focus with a powerful piece on the challenges to democracy in the United States and elsewhere, and lays out why a healthy democracy is essential to effective U.S. foreign policy. Newly retired Senior FSO Kelly AdamsSmith explains the evolution of the role of the National Security Council and its currently diminished position and staffing. Veteran VOA reporter Elez Biberaj recounts the vital role of U.S. broadcasting and warns of what happens when it falls silent. Newly retired Senior FSO Steve Adams-Smith offers a brief history of and recent changes to the Foreign Service hiring process in “Are We Seeing the Reemergence of the Spoils System?” Recently retired FSO Tom Selinger uses excerpts from the oral history collection of the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training (ADST) to illustrate the legacy of Benjamin Franklin through the diplomats who followed in his footsteps. And, finally, James Graham Wilson and Lynette Evans-Tiernan from the State Historian’s Office give us a glimpse into how U.S. diplomatic history is compiled in the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) volumes. This edition of AFSA News headlines a special May 1 event that the history books will undoubtedly recall as an unfortunate moment. It was the first Foreign Service Day ignored by the State Department, leaving AFSA to hold the annual memorial ceremony honoring diplomats who died in the line of duty at association headquarters rather than at the site of the AFSA Memorial Plaques inside the State Department. History Notes Looking back on 250 years and considering the future of diplomacy, you can discover the full history of AFSA and of the Foreign Service in our searchable FSJ Digital Archives that go back more than 100 years (www.afsa.org/fsj-archive). In the Special Collections, we offer curated sets of articles from the archives on specific themes (e.g., humanitarian assistance, dissent, diplomatic tradecraft, FS families, China, Africa, climate, trade, public diplomacy, and reform). Read the story of U.S. diplomacy as told by those who were there, in the room. AFSA’s History Timeline, going back to 1776 and newly updated, was originally published in AFSA’s history book, The Voice of the Foreign Service. Now you can find it at https://afsa.org/afsa-history -timeline. Meeting the Moment This is a time of turmoil for U.S. diplomacy, and the professional career Foreign Service faces unprecedented threats. This is the time for every member of the Foreign Service community, past and present, to meet the moment and do what our AFSA president asks in his column: “Stand with AFSA.” AFSA is the primary organization looking out for you and your agency, throughout your FS career and beyond. Your membership is the number one contribution you can make to keep AFSA in the ring (not to be confused with the new eyebrow-raising State initiative “cage fights for diplomacy”). You can renew your membership (and update your mailing address) at https://afsa.org/membership. If you’re not receiving your FSJ, that may mean your membership has lapsed since payroll and annuity deductions came to an abrupt halt following the anti-union executive order of March 27, 2025. As always, we want to hear from you and add your voice to the conversation. Write to journal@afsa.org. n
10 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL LETTERS The Legal Defense Fund Needs You I joined the Foreign Service in 1969 and have been an AFSA member ever since. The AFSA Legal Defense Fund’s call for donations in the March-April FSJ prompted me to recall vividly a consequential personal encounter more than two decades ago with AFSA’s General Counsel, Sharon Papp, and the fund. It was summer 2000, and I was at the Foreign Service Institute preparing for an onward assignment overseas. Unexpectedly, Diplomatic Security asked me to come to their office, where two FBI special agents (female “good cop” and male “bad cop”) were lying in wait for me. Over three hours, they accused me of being a Russian spy, threatening to suspend my security clearance and cancel my career. I knew I needed legal help and went immediately to Sharon Papp’s office. Pointing out that the FBI had not yet acted against my clearance, Sharon explained that if my clearance were suspended, then the Legal Defense Fund could help me. In the meantime, she telephoned a lawyer specializing in security cases, and within an hour I was in his office. At the lawyer’s suggestion, the FBI agreed that if I passed a lie detector test, I could proceed to post. After the test, the polygraph technician commented that he had rarely seen such a flat lack of response to his questions. Looking back, I remember that when I entered Sharon’s office, I was dazed and bewildered about what to do next, but, thanks to her, by that evening I was confident about my plan of action. Knowing that the Legal Defense Fund would help if my clearance was suspended also calmed my anxiety. Since then, I have contributed to the AFSA Legal Defense Fund regularly, and I hope others will follow suit. Frederic “Fritz” Maerkle Senior FSO, retired Vallabrix, France Harbinger of Things to Come Long retired from the Foreign Service, I was nonetheless interested (and dismayed) to read Ambassador Eric Rubin’s March-April Speaking Out article, “What’s Wrong with the Ben Franklin Fellowship?” I share his concern about the BFF and the further “partisanization” of the Foreign Service that it seems to represent. However, we should have seen it coming. In 1990 I was bidding on several deputy chief of mission (DCM) positions, one under a Republican political appointee. Through my career development officer, I learned that the ambassador in question had some interest in my candidacy (I had previous DCM experience) but wanted to know my political affiliation before giving me further consideration. How common that kind of questioning was I cannot say, but it was apparently a harbinger of things to come. (I ended up being assigned to another late-opening DCM post, under a different GOP political appointee who, fortunately, never asked anything about my politics.) Jonathan B. Rickert Senior FSO, retired Bainbridge Island, Washington Where Are the Resignations? When President George W. Bush instigated a war with Iraq in 2003, many U.S. government employees, myself included, resigned in protest. In protest of the war against Iran, from what I have been able to gather, only two U.S. government employees have resigned. Is this correct? What has happened? Has the cancer of fear become so rampant that government employees lack the courage to sacrifice their careers? Are they and many others (e.g., educators, lawyers, military officers, news media officials) self-censoring out of fear of opening themselves to lifelong persecution for being considered an enemy of the current accepted thinking or administration? Are we following the path of nonresistance leading to an authoritarian nation? Gatherings for “No Kings” days send a message, and protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s extrajudicial actions and un-American behavior are commendable. That said, to assure a return to justice, current officials must be given notice that their actions are being carefully observed and fully documented and shall be subjected to future judicial review and appropriate punishment for any unconstitutional or illegal behavior. No one is above the law, so every official—federal, state, and local—should understand in no uncertain terms that “We the People” are watching and you will be judged. The United States of America inspired the world by its system of government, benevolence, decency, and willingness to help others, becoming the most admired nation in history. We need to bring back the values that made us great instead of being viewed as
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 11 untrustworthy, self-serving, and uncaring about the health, welfare, and happiness of others. John Drotos DSS agent, retired Newport, Rhode Island Diplomacy or the Military? I doubt I am the only one to have noticed how what we used to call diplomacy has morphed over the years into paramilitary execution. American diplomacy has been transformed into U.S. pressure aided more than before by the threat of U.S. military intervention. I don’t think it is un-American to suggest that the diplomatic process is a two-way, not just one-way, proposition. Admittedly that makes it more complicated, as the thoughts and desires of other world governments have to be taken into account. It’s tougher than just turning to the military to impose our views. I recall the days of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who believed in the imposition of American views rather than seeking the views of others. That approach certainly had the advantage of simplicity. Relying on senior thinkers in the White House, or closely attached to it, made it unnecessary to test other approaches that might have led to better foreign policy in the longer run. It also guaranteed that American policy would be controlled by the direction of American politics—and the advantages of imposition by military might. But that evades key questions: Do American domestic politics guarantee the best course for America to follow overseas just because American politicians with the ear of the president win the argument every time? And what is our experience with simple imposition by military might? How well have we done over recent years by repeated military imposition of military might in the Middle East, Afghanistan, and elsewhere? Speaking simply as a retired Senior Foreign Service officer (and the author of the 2019 book, So You Want to Be a Diplomat?), I ask: Who should bear the blame for our repeated mistakes in the Middle East and elsewhere? The State Department is intended to lead with diplomacy. This always requires starting with “Getting to Yes” and only moving to the military when that is more likely to succeed. Then, if circumstances do not lead to success, you either stop the effort or take a more discerning look at how much you need that success, what it will cost, and what penalty you risk if you go ahead anyway. Will we ever learn? George Lambrakis Senior FSO, retired Brighton/Hove, England Lost Passport, Found Gratitude As someone who has traveled to more than 50 countries, it was a consistent point of pride that I had never lost my passport. Until I did. This past winter, I was flying within Norway up to the Arctic Circle to see the northern lights and absentmindedly left my passport in the netting of the seat in front of me. You know, the thing flight attendants tell you to check before you leave the plane? Well, I didn’t (and blame perimenopause). Realizing my gaffe (picture me as the figure in Munch’s The Scream), I now had a very real problem to solve: How would I get back to the U.S. without my passport? This is when the Foreign Service came through for me in a big way. The morning after the flight, I emailed the U.S. embassy in Oslo, expecting I might not hear back for some time. I had my answer within an hour: show up at the embassy the following Monday and I’d have an emergency passport issued that same day. And as promised, consular officers made it happen. How lucky we are as Americans to have the Foreign Service there for us when we need them most. Before I departed Norway, I did see the northern lights—greens and pinks pulsing across a vast Arctic sky. It was a humbling experience, and so too was the passport fiasco. The trip had been saved, and I was spared a probable drawn-out travel nightmare. At a time when there has been so much disruption to the federal workforce, and not enough appreciation for what members of the Foreign Service do every day on behalf of all Americans, I want you to know that when I needed help, you came through. And for that, I’m immensely grateful. It’s one thing to advocate for Foreign Service members from behind a desk. It’s another thing to need them when you’re thousands of miles from home. Thank you for getting me home. Nikki Gamer AFSA Communications Director Baltimore, Maryland n SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS about this month’s issue. Submit letters to the editor: journal@afsa.org
12 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL TALKING POINTS 92 Percent: Political Ambassadors T he confirmation of U.S. ambassadors in the Senate continues sporadically. There has been little to report since our last update in March. Seven ambassador nominees were confirmed in mid-May, all but one from outside the career Foreign Service for postings to ASEAN, Iceland, New Zealand, the Philippines, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. In addition, five nominees for senior positions in the State Department were confirmed: the assistant secretaries for the bureaus of African Affairs, Educational and Cultural Affairs, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, as well as the coordinator for counterterrorism, the only career FSO. There has been some good news. In late April, the Senate confirmed more than 160 Foreign Service promotions. Much work is yet to be done on that front, but any movement on these lists is positive. Fifteen ambassador nominees are awaiting either committee or Senate action. AFSA is tracking 109 vacancies at posts around the world. This is a staggeringly high number given that we are 16 months into a presidential administration. This number can be attributed in part to the unprecedented recall of at least 31 career ambassadors at the beginning of this year. At the same time, five nominees for senior State Department posts await confirmation. Not a single member of the career Foreign Service has received an ambassador nomination this year. The ratio of career versus political nominees in this administration stands at 92.5 percent political—by far the most egregiously skewed number in 50 years. It is worth repeating, yet again, that the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is very clear on this issue: “Positions as chief of mission should normally be accorded to career members of the Service, though circumstances will warrant appointments from time to time of qualified individuals who are not career members of the Service.” AFSA views 92.5 percent as wildly inconsistent with any interpretation of the phrase “from time to time.” Senators Press State on Stalled Fellow Onboarding On March 19, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led 21 of his Senate colleagues in dispatching a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio raising alarm over the State Department’s indefinite delay in onboarding Thomas R. Pickering and Charles B. Rangel Fellows into the U.S. Foreign Service. More than 50 fellows from the 2024, 2023, and deferred 2022 cohorts remain in the onboarding pipeline, with only a small fraction having received orientation invitations. An additional 90 fellows will become eligible to be hired this coming September. The senators argued that the delay “undermines U.S. diplomatic readiness, wastes congressionally appropriated taxpayer dollars, and directly harms these outstanding Americans while simultaneously discouraging future talent from applying to the Foreign Service.” The Pickering and Rangel fellowships, described by the department as “flagship initiatives for recruiting toptier talent,” have an annual acceptance rate of under 5 percent. As of 2022, the two programs had increased the number of Foreign Service generalists from underrepresented groups by 33 percent and the number of women by 6 percent. Congress reauthorized both fellowships on a bipartisan basis in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act. The senators urged Secretary Rubio to include all remaining eligible fellows in the upcoming 2026 A-100 orientation classes and requested a response by April 19 to eight questions covering pipeline numbers, selection criteria, reimbursement obligations, and steps to prevent future delays. As we went to press, the State Department had not responded. The national interest has never been defined so narrowly. The United States has been the world’s leading nation, not because of military might or economic power alone. We have been a leader because we have been instrumental in creating a world order that is based on the rule of law and on humanitarian principles. While we have sometimes strayed, for the most part our presidents have seen it as their responsibility to uphold this rules-based international system. —Former USAID Administrator and Under Secretary of State for Management Brian Atwood at a DACOR event, “State and AID—Building Back Better,” on May 12. Contemporary Quote
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 13 Talking Points offers a snapshot of recent developments affecting the Foreign Service. The items in this edition were finalized for publication on May 15, 2026. Foreign Aid in Historic Decline Global foreign aid suffered its steepest annual decline on record in 2025, according to preliminary data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on April 9. Official development assistance (ODA) from members of the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and associates totaled just $174.3 billion, a 23.1 percent drop from 2024 and the second consecutive year of contraction. The reduction was driven overwhelmingly by the United States, which alone accounted for three-quarters of the global decline. U.S. ODA fell by 56.9 percent compared to 2024. For the first time in history, Germany surpassed the United States as the largest DAC provider of ODA, contributing $29.1 billion. Bilateral ODA fell by 26.4 percent, with grants dropping 29.1 percent. Funding for development programs, projects, and technical cooperation declined 26.3 percent, the largest drop ever recorded for this category. Humanitarian ODA from DAC countries fell 35.8 percent to $15.5 billion. Bilateral ODA to sub-Saharan Africa and least developed countries declined 26.3 percent and 25.8 percent, respectively, while net bilateral aid to Ukraine fell 38.2 percent. The OECD projects a further 5.8 percent decline in DAC ODA in 2026, a figure that does not yet account for additional pressures from the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. FS Engineer Honored with 2026 Sammie Gharun Lacy, deputy assistant secretary of State for cyber and technology security, was recognized with a 2026 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal presented by the Partnership for Public Service. This year, the awards, better known as the Sammies, marked their 25th year of recognizing exceptional work in the federal workforce. The Sammies have honored more than 800 federal employees since the program’s inception. Lacy was honored for thwarting a sophisticated cyber intrusion into government email accounts. One of only four federal employees honored this year, Lacy was joined by James Szykman of the Environmental Protection Agency; Jill A. Frisch, formerly of the Internal Revenue Service; and a team of researchers from the Department of Agriculture. The 2026 program reorganized its categories into four simplified themes— “safer, stronger, healthier, and more The Deep End State By Brian Aggeler
14 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Site of the Month: Department of Government Waste The appearance of a particular site or podcast is for information only and does not constitute an endorsement. T his ongoing documentary portrait project examines the personal impact of federal workforce reductions, contract terminations, and program cuts across the United States. The project pairs formal studio portraiture with excerpts from recorded conversations, creating a visual and oral record of federal workers and contractors dismissed as “waste.” Each participant is photographed in a consistent studio format and paired with reflections on work, identity, purpose, and what it means to be told their role no longer has value. Current and former federal employees, contractors, and others directly affected by recent workforce reductions or program changes are invited to participate. Sessions last approximately one hour and include a photographed portrait and a recorded conversation. Participation is voluntary, and those who prefer not to be publicly identifiable may participate anonymously, including by withholding their name or appearing in silhouette. Portrait sessions are currently conducted at Open Gov Hub in Washington, D.C., with additional locations possible as the project expands. To learn more or inquire about participating, go to the contact page at https://www.departmentofgovernment waste.com/ or email hello@department ofgovernmentwaste.com. prosperous”—with one honoree per category. The smaller cadre of honorees reflects a drop in agency participation. The four awardees were selected from roughly 140 nominations across 39 agencies and subcomponents, compared to more than 500 nominations and 25 finalists in 2024. Max Stier, president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service, attributed the decline to “upheaval” across the federal workforce under the Trump administration, noting that some agencies that typically submit dozens of nominations submitted none this year. Despite the diminished pool, Stier emphasized the importance of recognizing federal employees who continue to deliver impactful work under challenging circumstances. This year’s ceremony, held at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C., also fell during Public Service Recognition Week, which has commemorated public servants each May since 1985. Limited-Edition Passport to Feature Trump Portrait The White House has confirmed that a limited number of U.S. passports featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump will be released as part of celebrations for the 250th anniversary of
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 15 the Declaration of Independence in July. According to a State Department rendering, an image of the president is surrounded by the text of the Declaration of Independence, the American flag, and the president’s signature in gold. An administration official told the BBC that the commemorative passports will continue as long as supplies last. The design will only be issued by the Washington Passport Agency. It is not yet clear whether applicants will be able to opt out of the design. Current U.S. passports depict scenes from U.S. history, including the 1969 moon landing, alongside national symbols such as the Statue of Liberty. The passport is the latest in a series of initiatives associating the president’s name and likeness with federal programs and public spaces, including a forthcoming commemorative gold coin from the U.S. Mint, Trump’s signature on U.S. banknotes, Trump’s name on the United States Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center, along with the planned Triumph Arch (known as the “Arc de Trump”) and other monuments. New Questions for NIV Applicants A State Department cable issued April 28 directs consular officers at every U.S. embassy and consulate to ask two new questions of every nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applicant as part of the standard interview: “Have you experienced harm or mistreatment in your country of nationality or last habitual residence?” and “Do you fear harm or mistreatment in returning to your country of nationality or permanent residence?” Applicants must answer no verbally to both questions for the interview to proceed; an affirmative response or refusal to answer results in denial.
16 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL In Our Best Interest Foreign aid is not charity. It is critical for our national security. Our diplomats and development workers not only embody our values working in crisis zones to promote peace, health, and human rights, but promote stability and prosperity, reducing the risk of future conflicts requiring military engagement. The provision of humanitarian assistance is not just our moral responsibility as the richest, most powerful nation in the world, but it is also in our best interest. —Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.-4) in the House Committee on Appropriations hearing “Markup of Fiscal Year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Bill” on April 28. Diplomacy as Prevention USAID hollowed out, programs canceled, expertise pushed out the door, and now a weakened State Department is expected to carry out the full load despite the fact it was never built to do so. … This is a setup for failure. —Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) in the House Committee on Appropriations hearing “Markup of Fiscal Year 2027 National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Bill” on April 28. JOSH Heard on the Hill AFSPA afspa.org/dental afspa.org/Financial Wellness Chambers Theory Property Management chamberstheory.com Gallagher (formerly Clements Worldwide) ajg.com Federal Employee Defense Services fedsprotection.com/?c=AFSA Goldberg Group Property Management GoldbergGroupPM.com McEnearney & Associates McEnearneyPM.com Promax Management PromaxManagement.com Property Specialists, Inc. PropertySpecialistsinc.com Richey Property Management RicheyPM.com/foreignservice WJD Management wjdpm.com Officers are instructed to document responses in case notes. Issued by the office of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the cable cites Executive Order 14161, which Trump signed on his first day in office in January 2025, directing agencies to enhance immigration screening and vetting. The directive asserts that “the high number of aliens claiming asylum in the United States indicates that many aliens misrepresent this intention to consular officers in the visa application process and at U.S. ports of entry.” It also cross-references classified operational guidance held on internal department systems, meaning that the full scope of the policy remains unknown outside the department. The directive places consular officers at the front of a new screening process affecting all nonimmigrant visa categories, from tourists and students to H-1B and L-1 workers. The State Department issued nearly 11 million nonimmigrant visas in Fiscal Year 2024. The policy arrives as the administration’s broader immigration agenda continues to reshape consular work abroad, including a travel ban affecting nationals of 39 countries, expanded social media vetting for student visa applicants, and the cancellation of temporary protected status for migrants from 13 countries. The cable was issued days after a federal appeals court ruled that the president’s invocation of an “invasion” at the southern border to curtail asylum seekers was unlawful. The administration has indicated its intent to appeal. AFSA Supports AHI Victims O n April 15, George Mason University’s Hayden Center for Intelligence, Policy, and International Security hosted “Havana Syndrome: New Revelations on a
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 17 What National Defense Leaves Out 50 Years Ago When “national defense” is promoted by presidents, congressmen, and media, it is invariably conceptualized in terms of military and economic, never in terms of diplomatic, resources. A strong “national defense posture” means a strong military, not a strong diplomatic establishment. Funds generously bestowed upon the military and intelligence agencies enable them to work with whole banks of computers while the State Department limps along with a handful and is not even certain as to how these can contribute to “diplomacy.” —Foreign Service Officer Smith Simpson in “Diplomacy: Some Professional and Political Perspectives” in the August 1976 edition of the FSJ. Quiet War,” a public program on anomalous health incidents (AHIs). Moderated by retired CIA officer and Hayden Center Senior Fellow John Sipher, the panel featured investigative journalists Christo Grozev and Michael Weiss of “The Insider,” whose recent collaboration with “60 Minutes” has helped reshape public understanding of these attacks, and Mark Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA operations officer injured by an AHI in Moscow in 2017. Grozev and Weiss presented evidence correlating the travel of Russian operatives with the timing and locations of cornerstone AHI cases in Frankfurt, Havana, Tbilisi, Vienna, and elsewhere. The panel also discussed reporting that a miniaturized pulsed-microwave device is now in U.S. government possession and undergoing testing. Polymeropoulos described being denied medical care for years after his injury, and panelists pointed to a yearslong pattern of institutional skepticism inside the U.S. government that treated victims’ accounts as unreliable even as the underlying evidence mounted. Panelists noted that Foreign Service employees and their family members are among those affected, and that the State Department too often deferred to the intelligence community rather than taking responsibility for its own personnel. The full recording, well worth watching, is available at https://bit.ly/ AHI-panel. AFSA is a named plaintiff in active litigation on behalf of Foreign Service members harmed by AHIs and continues to press department and other agency leadership to act without further delay. The association is committed to ensuring affected members have clear, unobstructed access to medical care, without bureaucratic delay, without skepticism, and without having to prove themselves before receiving the attention they deserve. AFSA will continue to advocate on behalf of AHI victims and their families until their needs are met. Members of the Foreign Service community experiencing difficulty in accessing AHI-related care or navigating the claims process can reach AFSA at member@afsa.org. n This issue of Talking Points was compiled by Mark Parkhomenko.
18 JULY-AUGUST 2026 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL SPEAKING OUT Katherine Ntiamoah is the director of policy engagement and strategic partnerships at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies. As a Foreign Service officer from 2011 to 2025, she served in Washington, D.C., Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Africa. A 2026 Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leader and Aspen Ideas Fellow, she also directs the allocation of municipal social service funding for the City of Bloomington, Indiana. An alumna of the University of Denver and Indiana University, she interrogates the intersections of power, language, and culture on her Substack, Still, I Notice Everything. A merican diplomacy is at a pivotal moment. Rapid shifts in technology, global power dynamics, and societal expectations demand a Foreign Service that is agile and prepared for complex challenges. As a member of the Foreign Service Journal Editorial Board, I am writing to share a vision for the future of U.S. diplomacy, one that requires ambition rooted in humility, creativity anchored in accountability, and innovation married to experience. I have spent nearly all my professional career advancing U.S. foreign policy across Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Along the way, I have advised ambassadors, briefed Cabinet-level officials, and represented U.S. policy to global audiences. Now at the Hamilton Lugar School, I combine diplomacy and academia to shape the next generation of foreign affairs professionals. I offer this context to frame my deeply held beliefs about who we are as a nation supported by one of the most capable and skilled diplomatic corps in the world. Beyond the Resource Trap The next 250 years of American diplomacy need more than a wish list; they demand a blueprint for a professional class that can adapt, experiment, and ensure that U.S. engagement continues to protect, stabilize, and elevate the nation long after headlines fade. It is a common refrain that U.S. diplomacy is chronically understaffed and underfunded. While true, resources alone are not the most salient variables of success. In the past, influxes of funding and staff have been diluted across competing mandates in the absence of a serious internal strategy—namely, the institutional discipline to prioritize core national interests and make the difficult trade-offs required to stop pursuing secondary objectives. Without such strategic discipline, new resources are simply absorbed by mission creep, leading to the same chronic shortfalls. We must move beyond pointing to external constraints. The real investment must be in the quality of our input: defining a rigorous standard of practice and fostering the moral courage to challenge failing status quos. The dismantling of critical U.S. humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding bodies has indeed constrained our capacity, but without a fundamental reimagining of our professional culture— including the institutional discipline to prioritize mission-critical objectives over a “Christmas tree” of peripheral mandates and a shift from bureaucratic riskaversion to practitioner-led tradecraft— even the most innovative funding models will fail to produce sustainable impact. We cannot simply fund our way out of an institutional deficit; we must intentionally restructure how we deploy our intellectual capital. Strengthening the Professional Corps The abrupt end of the Diplomat in Residence program last year highlighted the structural fragility of our outreach to Shaping the Next 250 Years of U.S. Diplomacy: Vision, Humility, and Action BY KATHERINE NTIAMOAH The real investment must be in the quality of our input: defining a rigorous standard of practice and fostering the moral courage to challenge failing status quos.
THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JULY-AUGUST 2026 19 future generations of professional diplomats. Relying on a minimal rotation of officers to serve as the primary engine for engaging a nation of nearly 350 million was always a vulnerability. As someone who began her career as a Charles Rangel Graduate Fellow, I know firsthand the power of early mentorship. We must reimagine pathways into the Foreign Service that go beyond traditional pipelines, strengthening fellowships and regional hubs that connect aspiring leaders with the realities of diplomatic tradecraft. We must scale proven models like the Diplomat in Residence program in the Midwest, which successfully bridged the gap between nontraditional candidates and elite fellowships like the Rangel and Pickering. By institutionalizing these pathways, we ensure that new entrants are equipped with the practitioner-led tradecraft required to navigate a fragmented global landscape. Recruitment, however, is only the first step toward a more effective Service. The future of U.S. influence depends on our ability to retain expertise and build a corps that views complex problem- solving as its primary mandate. This requires a culture that moves past the “generalist” ideal toward a more specialized, high-performance model in which merit and strategic insight are the sole arbiters of advancement. Our strategic reach is capped when our internal culture prioritizes traditional consistency over the innovative friction required to solve modern, nonlinear challenges. Defining the Tradecraft The practice of diplomacy requires more than individual policy expertise; it demands a standardized, rigorous tradecraft that can be consistently applied At the Hamilton Lugar School, I have witnessed how academic spaces can cultivate these competencies, but State itself must build the capacity to continuously train its diplomats. Public service extends beyond embassies and capitals; it includes a commitment to creating pathways where emerging talent can navigate complexity with strategic insight and ethical clarity. A Commitment to Credibility U.S. diplomacy has weathered profound changes over the past two centuries. From industrial expansion to the Cold War and into the age of artificial intelligence, diplomats have adapted to shifting threats. This work must continue to evolve, guided by accountability and strategic vision. The next 250 years of diplomacy will be defined not just by U.S. influence but by the credibility, trust, and competence of the Americans we serve. We must sustain global leadership by embedding humility, curiosity, and rigor into every decision. Our ability to stabilize crises, prevent conflict, and advance shared prosperity hinges on our willingness to prioritize both ethical and practical outcomes. This is my vision for American engagement, offered in optimism and with recognition of the extraordinary people who carry this work forward. n Speaking Out is the Journal’s opinion forum, a place for lively discussion of issues affecting the U.S. Foreign Service and American diplomacy. The views expressed are those of the author; their publication here does not imply endorsement by the American Foreign Service Association. Responses are welcome; send them to journal@afsa.org. across diverse contexts. To support this, we must establish a common curriculum of diplomacy that ensures a baseline of professional competence bridging the gap between traditional reporting and modern analytical tools. This begins with data-informed pattern recognition, a method that integrates qualitative, on-the-ground observations with structured data, such as economic indicators or mobility trends. By synthesizing these diverse information streams, we can move beyond the limits of isolated reporting and develop the strategic foresight necessary to anticipate global shifts before they become crises. It requires agile advocacy, equipping officers with the ability to translate national priorities into actionable, highly contextualized local strategies with speed and judgment. Crucially, this innovation must be coupled with institutional memory, a deep, humble awareness of our historical iterations that allows us to learn from past challenges and integrate lessons across regions. Yet, mastering these skills requires time, a commodity the State Department rarely affords its people. Unlike the military, which utilizes a personnel “training float” to pull service members off the line for dedicated professional development, the Foreign Service has historically lacked the personnel buffer to allow for serious, midcareer upskilling. We must be clear: For a modernized tradecraft to take root, the State Department must be fully staffed to accommodate this professional development as a core requirement, rather than a secondary convenience that is sacrificed to immediate operational demands as at present. This “stay-and-play” culture prevents us from building the deep expertise required for 21st-century threats.
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