Fall 2016 - 60580 - PA682GA - Policy Research Project on Global Policy Issues

Reinventing Diplomacy

Diplomatic services around the world are facing similar kinds of challenges: the imperative of having a global perspective and sensibility, managing the growing centralization of foreign policy making in the offices of Presidents, Prime Ministers and Chancellors, and the widening scope of diplomatic activity to include commerce, climate change, terrorism, energy, and cyber, among others. This PRP investigates the way various countries have tackled this challenge—how have they changed the way they recruit, select, prepare and train their diplomats to perform in this altered environment?

Students would begin the fall semester by getting up to speed and dividing up responsibilities into 4-6 teams, each focused on a foreign country’s diplomatic service. Guest speakers would expose them to various U.S. and non-U.S. diplomats and their experiences. Later on in the project, students would travel to Washington for intensive discussions and interviews in the State Department and with country-specific foreign diplomats. If sufficient funding is available, students would also travel to foreign capitals for further research.

Foreign language proficiency is welcome (for interviews and research on foreign diplomatic services). The client for this project is the President of the American Foreign Service Association - joined, we hope, by the Director General of the U.S. Foreign Service.