The Foreign Service Journal, December 2019

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2019 91 case, citing an academic speaking about ISIS—are really “anti-globalization” freedom fighters. In Defense of Democracy Passionate in his defense of democracy, Walzer argues that neither side in a conflict should be excused if it employs the tactics of suppressing dissent and speaking on behalf of “the masses,” and that a true leftist foreign policy should base itself above all on the defense of freedom of speech and human rights. A so-called revolutionary vanguard or theocratic elite that must remove individual rights to fight reactionaries will always become an authoritarian nightmare, with corruption a near-certain corollary, he notes. Walzer’s guidelines could prove inspirational to those of any political stripe who still see a robust role for the United States in the world and who want to show isolationists a way forward that advances our ideals and goals, while still reflecting what we have learned from our many mistakes. n Annie Pforzheimer, a recently retired career diplomat with the personal rank of Minister Counselor, was the acting deputy assistant secretary for Afghani- stan until March 2019. From 2017 to 2018, she was the deputy chief of mission in Kabul. She has also served at the National Security Council and in Mexico, El Salvador, Turkey, South Africa and Colombia. The correct approach, difficult and thankless as it may be, he argues, is to support the equivalent of the moder- ates in the French and Russian revolu- tions—the Girondins and Mensheviks, respectively—as modern-day peaceful dissidents in Iran and Syria fighting a “two-front war” against both reactionary oppressors and radical revolutionaries. During my own diplomatic career, I was lucky to know people in this category, eternally in the opposition, often in dan- ger and correct in their assessment of the excesses of both sides of the debate. How do we help, he asks? By showing solidar- ity and asking the dissidents themselves what they need rather than speaking and acting on their behalf (as he accuses the current administration of doing in Iran).