By Phillip James Walker, Esq.
November 29, 2019
On June 28, 2019, Senator Elizabeth Warren issued a policy paper entitled “Revitalizing Diplomacy: A 21st Century Foreign Service.” The policy proposes to rebuild the professional diplomatic service of the United States (a/k/a the Foreign Service) after years of neglect and the active hostility of the Trump Administration. As a former Foreign Service officer myself, I was delighted to see a major candidate paying attention to this important (and always overlooked) issue. Really though, most people have never heard of the Foreign Service, do not know what it does, and a policy to rebuild it is a big yawn — or so you would think.
Thanks to his disregard for the law and transactional approach to foreign policy, President Trump has thrust the Foreign Service into the center of our national impeachment nightmare. If the rule of law prevails, it will be because Foreign Service officers and other career professionals knew and obeyed the law, reported illegal conduct when they saw it, and answered questions truthfully when required to do so. They were the stars of the impeachment hearings over the past several weeks and should all be regarded as heroes. Perhaps we should also thank President Trump for highlighting the value of the Foreign Service.
The hearings deliver at least two important lesson. First, sound institutions require dedicated and competent career professionals. This is common sense, and if we care about the United States we should care about the machinery of government. Second, sound institutions staffed by dedicated professionals can curb a lawless executive. While supporters of the president may be upset with the “deep state” right now, they may be glad of it should future presidents try to use the vast powers of the presidency to rig the system the way Trump has done. Elizabeth Warren understands this, and her plan to revitalize the Foreign Service is very timely. It also fits well into her larger plans to plans to curb corruption in government.
Senator Warren’s organizing principle is that we need to strengthen American diplomacy as a tool of foreign policy because it is the least-cost, most effective way to achieve our global objectives, and we currently invest too little there. I can think of many examples to illustrate the point from my own career. This is such a simple, common-sense proposal that I am amazed it is even controversial—but we live in strange time. At bottom, diplomacy is a tool of statecraft, just like military force, economic sanctions, bilateral assistance or any other expressions of American power and influence. If anything, diplomacy is the lubricant that keeps all the other gears running smoothly.
Senator Warren offers a number of common-sense fixes to strengthen the foreign service. They range from improved recruitment of our most talented young people, to better training opportunities for current officers, to ending the practice of the sale of ambassadorships to the highest bidder. This last point is perhaps the most shocking to the lay-person. In most high-stakes lines of work, you want to hire people who know what they are doing. An ambassador is America’s representative overseas — the epitome of a high-stakes job. Senator Warren would only appoint qualified people for those positions.
America is facing growing challenges around the world and we are ill-equipped at present to deal with them, despite the vast sums we spend on our military. Climate change and its consequences, growing instability, refugee crises, trade disputes, and the degradation of our alliances (to name just a few such challenges) are not solved through the tools of war, but require the tools of diplomacy. If those tools are rusty, dull or broken, they need maintenance. Common-sense, but sadly uncommon in America today.
Phillip James Walker, Esq., is an attorney, scholar, legal & political affairs consultant, and former U.S. diplomat. For more information visit www.phillipjwalker.com. He lives in Dunbarton, NH.