The Foreign Service Journal, October 2011

24 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 1 In Uncertain Times: American Foreign Policy after the Berlin Wall and 9/11 Melvyn P. Leffler & Jeffrey W. Largo, eds., Cornell University Press, 2011, $15.95, paperback, 243 pages. Often the most momentous changes in the international system are precipitated by events that appear to be unexpected and unplanned. Few people, for example, anticipated the dramatic fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 or the devastating attacks of 9/11, events that provide the context for this vol- ume tracing the evolution of American foreign policy dur- ing the presidencies of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The editors have assembled an impressive list of con- tributors to this collection, including career FSOs Eric S. Edelman and Philip Zelikow, former Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick and other high officials from the policymaking side, as well as a complementary roster of eminent scholars and academics. The policymakers describe how they went about mak- ing strategy in a world characterized by peril and flux, of- fering reinterpretations of economic policy under the first Bush administration and describing policy clashes in the wake of the Soviet collapse, the expansion of NATO and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The scholars, too, address these topics, probing the unstated assumptions, cultural values and psychological makeup of the policymakers. Between the two, we are compelled to rethink how our world has changed and how strategic planning and policymaking can be improved in the future. In a world still reeling from the surprises and still-unfolding effects of the Arab Spring, where the centrality of uncertainty has once more been made abundantly clear, the ideas presented here take on special importance. Melvyn P. Leffler is a professor of American history at the University of Virginia. Jeffrey W. Largo is also a pro- fessor at U.Va., in the Department of Politics. C OVER S TORY Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplomacy at Work Shawn Dorman, editor, FS Books/American Foreign Service Association, 2011, $22.95, paperback, 265 pages. The all-new third edition of AFSA’s popular introduction to the Foreign Service, Inside a U.S. Embassy: Diplomacy at Work , was released in April by Foreign Service Books, the book- publishing division of AFSA. The book draws on the expe- riences and expertise of the more than 80 Foreign Service contributors in 44 countries, giving the reader expansive in- sight into the challenges and opportunities of representing America abroad. FSBooks takes an innovative approach to foreign affairs publishing, seeking to introduce readers to the world of diplomatic practice through the practitioners themselves. The first section (Profiles) introduces readers to Foreign Service professionals in 24 different positions, while the sec- ond section (Work and Life) puts these positions into the larger context of the role of the embassy and the Foreign Service career and life. The short journal entries of Part III (ADay in the Life) provide readers with a sense of the every- day work of American diplomacy, while Part IV (Tales from the Field) gives a sense of the extraordinary times, from rev- olutions to natural disasters. Part V (So You Want to Join the Foreign Service?) is a primer on the hiring process, with reflections and guidance from Foreign Service officers and specialists from not only the State Department but also the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Foreign Agricultural Service and the Foreign Commercial Service. The book’s second edition, Inside a U.S. Embassy: How the Foreign Service Works for America , sold more than 75,000 copies. It was adopted by more than 40 universities for courses on diplomacy and purchased by more than 150 university career centers. It is used by embassies and the military as a guide to the work of U.S. embassies. The State Department continues to use the book to help educate For- eign Service candidates about the career. Shawn Dorman is associate editor of the Foreign Service Journal and directs the book program for the American For- eign Service Association. A former Foreign Service political officer, Dorman served in Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia and Russia, and in the State Department Operations Center in Wash- ington, D.C. She has written extensively on issues related to the diplomatic career.