The Foreign Service Journal, September 2012

J O U R N A L OREIGN ERVICE S F P RESIDENT ’ S V IEWS / 7 Can We Revive Constructive Dissent? Should We? By Susan R. Johnson S PEAKING O UT / 17 Overhauling the EER Process By Tyler Sparks FS K NOW -H OW / 20 Use Checklists to Make Visa Interviews Smarter By Jeffrey E. Zinsmeister R EFLECTIONS / 74 Serpentine Diplomacy By Robert E. Gribbin L ETTERS / 8 C YBERNOTES / 13 M ARKETPLACE / 14 B OOKS / 68 I NDEX TO A DVERTISERS / 72 S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 2 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 5 C ONTENTS September 2012 Volume 89, No. 9 F O C U S O N U . S . - C h i n a R e l a t i o n s F OUR D ECADES A FTER THE O PENING TO C HINA : A N I NTERVIEW WITH H ENRY K ISSINGER / 23 The former Secretary of State shares his thoughts on the state of U.S.-China relations and the importance of diplomacy. H UMAN R IGHTS , C HINA AND 21 ST -C ENTURY D IPLOMACY / 29 Developments in China offer new opportunities to reframe our approach to bilateral discussions of human rights. By Michael R. Posner T HE 100,000-S TRONG I NITIATIVE / 35 After just three years, this people-to-people program is already bringing the United States and China closer together. By Stanton Jue F E A T U R E S A P ERSONAL H OMAGE TO THE F OREIGN S ERVICE / 38 AFSA’s 2012 Lifetime Contributions to American Diplomacy Award winner offered the following remarks at the June 26 awards ceremony. By William Lacy Swing E L S ALVADOR ’ S R EMARKABLE T RANSITION / 41 The 2009 transition remains a testament to the people of El Salvador and a model of effective U.S. support for democracy in the hemisphere. By Robert Blau T HE R ESPONSIBILITY D OCTRINE / 47 Across its foreign policy agenda, the Obama administration has pursued a strategy of prodding other nations to help shoulder the burdens of global peace and stability By Nina Hachigian and David Shorr Cover and inside illustration by Carl Wiens.