The Foreign Service Journal, November 2009

58 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / N O V E M B E R 2 0 0 9 ical affairs and director gen- eral of the Foreign Service. Earlier in his career he was as- signed to posts ranging from Brussels to Islamabad. In his speech, “The Evolv- ing World of Diplomacy: Challenges to the Foreign Service,” Amb. Grossman de- tailed the five challenges facing our country and the world: ex- tremism and terrorism; glob- alization; global economic imbalance; the environment; and nuclear proliferation. These are challenges that all Foreign Service members must confront today. He was quick to illustrate how these five challenges are intertwined. The recent economic cri- sis, for example, has called globaliza- tion into question and led to calls for protectionism. He is worried, he said, that “Americans will take the wrong message from Iraq and Afghanistan,” consequently losing interest in pro- moting pluralism. Related to that, he claims, is the widening gap across the world between those who benefit from globalization and those who do not. On the environmental question, he cited a “stunning” set of maps in Jared Diamond’s Collapse (one of several books and studies Grossman refer- enced in his talk) that demonstrate how closely poor environmental con- ditions are aligned with unrest and in- stability. Does Amb. Grossman feel that today’s professional diplomats are equipped to meet these challenges? His answer:“Not yet.” He pointed to several tenets of what he calls “State Depart- ment culture,” some of which stand the Foreign Service in good stead, while others need to be changed in order to carry out the work of diplomacy effec- tively. He highlighted that: • State Dept. culture is defined by pa- triotism and a commitment to serving one’s country in a dangerous world. • There is a“crushing” lack of human and financial resources. “It’s important to recognize that the FS is an overseas deployed force,”Amb. Grossman noted, yet has no reserve personnel like the military. He advocates a personnel float to meet both emergency situations and longer-term commitments. • Like other agencies, State has a mix of norms in organizational structure, some relevant, some outdated: “In today’s world, problems can’t be solved by talking points. Insightful, creative analysis and decision-making are re- quired.” • Although Grossman praised Secre- tary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Develop- ment Review, he feels there’s still a gen- eralized aversion to strategic, long-term planning, and to taking proactive meas- ures rather than being passive or reac- tive in the face of crises. • The system oscillates between re- stricting information and disseminating information, and has not yet found an effective balance between the two. Actively promoting the profession in which he was so successful, Grossman encouraged the students in the audi- ence to consider a Foreign Service ca- reer. And, he remains optimistic and enthusiastic about“all the opportunities you can see if you look around the world.” During a question-and-answer pe- riod at the end of the talk, about a dozen international affairs students queried the ambassador on subjects ranging from the role of the United Nations to what makes a good FSO (being “curi- ous, smart, purposeful; and interested in making a case for the United States and in solving problems like human traf- ficking”). The Adair Memorial Lecture Series on American Diplomacy is funded by a perpetual gift from the Adair family to the Fund for American Diplomacy that supports the Speakers Bureau, a key el- ement inAFSA’s national outreach pro- gram. ❏ A F S A N E W S Lecture • Continued from page 49 Marc Grossman (left) delivers Adair lecture while AFSA Communications Director Tom Switzer and A.U. Washington Semester Program Dean David Brown (right) look on. JENNIFER DURINA Does Amb. Grossman feel that today’s professional diplomats are equipped to meet these challenges? His answer: “Not yet.”