52 DECEMBER 2024 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL FEATURE As international geopolitical dynamics become more complex, the scope has increased for “Track II” diplomacy— work to which former members of the Foreign Service are generally well suited. BY JOHN MARKS Social Entrepreneurship AND THE Professional Diplomat Diplomacy between nations has always been accompanied by unofficial gatherings, consultations, and discussions. During the past several decades, as international affairs and foreign policy challenges have become more complex and the activity of a variety of nonstate actors more widespread and significant, such “Track II” diplomacy has come into its own. Today nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) work unofficially around the world on a variety of issues to promote positive social change, including finding the basis for viable official solutions to problems ranging from trade disputes to civil war. Track II ventures are often begun by social entrepreneurs. These are people who are skilled at launching endeavors aimed at promoting positive change in their community and the world. Their bottom line is not financial profit but the common good. The nonprofit organization I founded in 1982, Search for Common Ground (commonly known as “Search”), made extensive use of the methodology of social entrepreneurship. Our vision at Search was large: we aimed to transform how the world deals with conflict—moving away from adversarial, win-lose approaches and toward nonadversarial, win-win problem-solving. The goal was to defuse or prevent violent conflict. John Marks is a former Foreign Service officer (1966-1970) who resigned in protest during the Vietnam War. He subsequently worked as executive assistant to U.S. Senator Clifford Case (R-N.J.) and authored two books: The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence (with Victor Marchetti, 1974) and The Search for the “Manchurian Candidate” (1979). In 1982 Marks founded and headed the nonprofit Search for Common Ground, which he and his wife, Susan Collin Marks, built into the world’s largest dedicated peacebuilding nongovernmental organization. This article is adapted from his newest book, From Vision to Action: Remaking the World Through Social Entrepreneurship (Columbia University Press, 2024).
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