Transformational Diplomacy
Encyclopedia
Transformational Diplomacy is a diplomacy
initiative championed by former United States Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice
for reinvigorating American Foreign Policy
and the United States Foreign Service
.
As Secretary of State
, Rice championed the expansion of democratic governments. Rice stated that the September 11, 2001 attacks
were rooted in “oppression and despair” and so, the U.S. must advance democratic reform and support basic rights throughout the greater Middle East
. Rice has also reformed and restructured the department, as well as U.S. diplomacy as a whole. "Transformational Diplomacy" is the goal which Rice describes as "work[ing] with our many partners around the world… [and] build[ing] and sustain[ing] democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system."
Rice said that these moves were needed to help "maintain security, fight poverty, and make democratic reforms" in these countries and would help improve foreign nations' legal, economic, healthcare, and educational systems.
Another aspect of the emphasis on regional solutions is the implementation of small, agile, "rapid-response" teams to tackle problems like disease, instead of the traditional approach of calling on experts in an embassy. Rice explained that this means moving diplomats out of the "back rooms of foreign ministries" and putting more effort into "localizing" the State Department's diplomatic posture in foreign nations. The Secretary emphasized the need for diplomats to move into the largely unreached "bustling new population centers" and to spread out "more widely across countries" in order to become more familiar with local issues and people.
to areas requiring additional diplomatic focus. Through the process of "Rightsizing", some missions have trimmed staff, freeing personnel to work in other areas. According to State, "Rightsizing is ensuring that the mix of U.S. Government agencies and their personnel overseas is appropriately aligned with U.S. foreign policy priorities, security concerns, and overall resource constraints. It may result in the addition or reduction of staff, or a change in the mix of staff at a given embassy or consulate overseas."
Additional personnel are being deployed in several endeavors. One prominent program is the establishment of American Presence Post
s. These ultra-small consulates are being placed in countries needing additional on-site personnel.
At Home: Harnessing Web 2.0
The Office of eDiplomacy
within the Department is actively developing a number of technologies which allow the diplomatic community to share and maintain institutional knowledge.
One of the most significant efforts to date are Virtual Presence Posts (VPPs). This new approach to rendering services usually provided by a traditional on-site diplomatic mission, VPPs allow for U.S. diplomatic presence in foreign cities without buildings or permanent staff. The technique involves regular travel, programs, media outreach, and new technology. As of September 2007, there were 42 VPPs worldwide. (A list of VPPs is in the article on the Office of eDiplomacy
).
Additional initiatives use some of the best collaboration technologies available on the Internet via Web 2.0
and replicate them on Department of State Intranet
s. These include:
was critical of State for a lack of response in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates
has called for additional State resources and Rice has responded, stating "We will not meet the challenges of the 21st century through military or any other means alone. Our national security requires the integration of our universal principles with all elements of our national power: our defense, our diplomacy, our development assistance, our democracy promotion efforts, free trade, and the good work of our private sector and society. And it is the State Department, more than any other agency of government, that is called to lead this work."
An office leading change, the State Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, has had staffing troubles and has not received requested funding from State although paradoxically some funding has come from a Department of Defense authorization.
The United States Foreign Service
was also feeling the strain of staffing, with 10% of positions having been held vacant worldwide in the midst of a shortage of over 1,000 positions.
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
initiative championed by former United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush...
for reinvigorating American Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy
Foreign Policy is a bimonthly American magazine founded in 1970 by Samuel P. Huntington and Warren Demian Manshel.Originally, the magazine was a quarterly...
and the United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
.
As Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, Rice championed the expansion of democratic governments. Rice stated that the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
were rooted in “oppression and despair” and so, the U.S. must advance democratic reform and support basic rights throughout the greater Middle East
Greater Middle East
The Greater Middle East is a political term coined by the Bush administration to group together together various countries, pertaining to the Muslim world, specifically Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Various Central Asian countries are sometimes also included. Some speakers may use the...
. Rice has also reformed and restructured the department, as well as U.S. diplomacy as a whole. "Transformational Diplomacy" is the goal which Rice describes as "work[ing] with our many partners around the world… [and] build[ing] and sustain[ing] democratic, well-governed states that will respond to the needs of their people and conduct themselves responsibly in the international system."
Elements
Rice's Transformational Diplomacy involved five core elements:- Relocating American diplomats to the places in the world where they are needed most, such as ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, NigeriaNigeriaNigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and LebanonLebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
. - Requiring diplomats to serve some time in hardship locations such as IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, and AngolaAngolaAngola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
; gain expertise in at least two regions; and become fluent in two foreign languages, such as Chinese, Arabic, or UrduUrduUrdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
. - Focusing on regional solutions to problems like terrorismTerrorismTerrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, drug trafficking, and diseases. - Working with other countries on a bilateral basis to help them build a stronger infrastructure, and decreasing foreign nations' dependence on American hand-outs and assistance.
- Creating a high-level position, Director of Foreign Assistance, to oversee U.S. foreign aid managed by the two agencies that manage the majority of foreign aid, the Department of State and the United States Agency for International DevelopmentUnited States Agency for International DevelopmentThe United States Agency for International Development is the United States federal government agency primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid. President John F. Kennedy created USAID in 1961 by executive order to implement development assistance programs in the areas...
(USAID). However this new entity would not directly supervise foreign aid managed by other U.S. Government agencies or departments such as the Department of Defense or the Department of Agriculture.
Rice said that these moves were needed to help "maintain security, fight poverty, and make democratic reforms" in these countries and would help improve foreign nations' legal, economic, healthcare, and educational systems.
Regionalization
Another aspect of Transformational Diplomacy is the emphasis on finding regional solutions. Rice also pressed for finding transnational solutions as well, stating that "in the 21st century, geographic regions are growing ever more integrated economically, politically and culturally. This creates new opportunities but it also presents new challenges, especially from transnational threats like terrorism and weapons proliferation and drug smuggling and trafficking in persons and disease."Another aspect of the emphasis on regional solutions is the implementation of small, agile, "rapid-response" teams to tackle problems like disease, instead of the traditional approach of calling on experts in an embassy. Rice explained that this means moving diplomats out of the "back rooms of foreign ministries" and putting more effort into "localizing" the State Department's diplomatic posture in foreign nations. The Secretary emphasized the need for diplomats to move into the largely unreached "bustling new population centers" and to spread out "more widely across countries" in order to become more familiar with local issues and people.
Abroad
As previously mentioned, the Department of State has begun redistribution of employees from more established embassiesAmerican diplomatic missions
This is a list of diplomatic missions of the United States.-History:Morocco, in December 1777, became the first nation to recognize the United States and together they maintain the United States' longest unbroken treaty.Benjamin Franklin established the first overseas mission of the United States...
to areas requiring additional diplomatic focus. Through the process of "Rightsizing", some missions have trimmed staff, freeing personnel to work in other areas. According to State, "Rightsizing is ensuring that the mix of U.S. Government agencies and their personnel overseas is appropriately aligned with U.S. foreign policy priorities, security concerns, and overall resource constraints. It may result in the addition or reduction of staff, or a change in the mix of staff at a given embassy or consulate overseas."
Additional personnel are being deployed in several endeavors. One prominent program is the establishment of American Presence Post
American Presence Post
An American Presence Post is a very small diplomatic facility of the United States government located abroad.It is usually staffed by a single Foreign Service Officer who carries the title of Consul. An American Presence Post is roughly equivalent to a Consulate, but lacks a regular consular...
s. These ultra-small consulates are being placed in countries needing additional on-site personnel.
At Home: Harnessing Web 2.0Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
The Office of eDiplomacyOffice of eDiplomacy
The Office of eDiplomacy acts as an applied technology think tank for the United States Department of State. As part of the Bureau of Information Resource Management, eDiplomacy serves as a liaison between Department of State IT specialists and Department of State diplomats and other employees /...
within the Department is actively developing a number of technologies which allow the diplomatic community to share and maintain institutional knowledge.
One of the most significant efforts to date are Virtual Presence Posts (VPPs). This new approach to rendering services usually provided by a traditional on-site diplomatic mission, VPPs allow for U.S. diplomatic presence in foreign cities without buildings or permanent staff. The technique involves regular travel, programs, media outreach, and new technology. As of September 2007, there were 42 VPPs worldwide. (A list of VPPs is in the article on the Office of eDiplomacy
Office of eDiplomacy
The Office of eDiplomacy acts as an applied technology think tank for the United States Department of State. As part of the Bureau of Information Resource Management, eDiplomacy serves as a liaison between Department of State IT specialists and Department of State diplomats and other employees /...
).
Additional initiatives use some of the best collaboration technologies available on the Internet via Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
and replicate them on Department of State Intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
s. These include:
- DiplopediaDiplopediaDiplopedia, billed as the Encyclopedia of the United States Department of State, is a wiki running on a State internal Intranet, called "OpenNet". It houses a unique collection of information pertaining to diplomacy, international relations, and Department of State tradecraft.The wiki may be used...
, a wikiWikiA wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
space that is the encyclopedia of the Department of State, containing thousands of entries. - Communities @ State, a series of communities of practice using web log (blogBlogA blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
) software that are designed to strengthen various types of communities within the Department. As of May 2008, there were 47 communities at State, ranging from a technical discussion group to groups of diplomats involved in human rights reporting and the Virtual Post program. - Virtual Work Environments: eDiplomacy is poised to play a leading role in the Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) adoption effort at State. The State Messaging and Archive Retrieval Toolset (SMART) program is heading the WSS deployment effort.
- ClassifiedClassified information in the United StatesThe United States government classification system is currently established under Executive Order 13526, the latest in a long series of executive orders on the topic. Issued by President Barack Obama in 2009, Executive Order 13526 replaced earlier executive orders on the topic and modified the...
web publishing for sharing diplomatic reporting and analysis with the U.S. Government's foreign affairs and national security communities.
At the two year mark
Rice returned to Gaston Hall at Georgetown University on February 12, 2008. While reiterating concepts exposed earlier, she presented several new ideas to strengthen diplomacy and the Foreign Service:- In the President’s 2009 budget, we are asking CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
to fund 1,100 new positions for the State Department and 300 new positions for USAID. So as we continue to use our resources wisely and continue to transform the practice, posture, and purpose of our diplomacy, we will need greater capacity. - America will need to forge a partnership between our civilians and our military. We are urging Congress to meet the President’s request to double the number of our positions for political advisers to military forces, diplomats who can work not only with four-star generals, but also deploy as civilian experts to Navy SEAL teams and to North Africa.
- Establish a Civilian Response Corps. This expeditionary group will be led by a core team of diplomats that could, deploy with the 82nd Airborne within 48 hours of a country falling into conflict. These first responders would be able to summon the skills of hundreds of civilian experts across our federal government, as well as thousands of private volunteers – doctors and lawyers, engineers and agricultural experts, police officers and public administrators.
Criticisms and problems
Defense Secretary Donald RumsfeldDonald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
was critical of State for a lack of response in war zones like Iraq and Afghanistan. Defense Secretary Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
has called for additional State resources and Rice has responded, stating "We will not meet the challenges of the 21st century through military or any other means alone. Our national security requires the integration of our universal principles with all elements of our national power: our defense, our diplomacy, our development assistance, our democracy promotion efforts, free trade, and the good work of our private sector and society. And it is the State Department, more than any other agency of government, that is called to lead this work."
An office leading change, the State Office of the Coordinator for Reconstruction and Stabilization, has had staffing troubles and has not received requested funding from State although paradoxically some funding has come from a Department of Defense authorization.
The United States Foreign Service
United States Foreign Service
The United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
was also feeling the strain of staffing, with 10% of positions having been held vacant worldwide in the midst of a shortage of over 1,000 positions.
See also
- United States Department of StateUnited States Department of StateThe United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
- United States Foreign ServiceUnited States Foreign ServiceThe United States Foreign Service is a component of the United States federal government under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of approximately 11,500 professionals carrying out the foreign policy of the United States and aiding U.S...
- Smart powerSmart powerSmart power is a term in international relations defined by Joseph Nye as "the ability to combine hard and soft power into a winning strategy." According to Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela R...
, the philosophy adopted by successor Secretary of State Hillary Rodham ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
External links
- Fact Sheet - Transformational Diplomacy, Department of State, January 18, 2006
- US Department of State - FY 2007-2012 Department of State and USAID Strategic Plan
- Transformational Diplomacy, by Justin Vaïsse, Chaillot Paper No. 103, June 2007, European Union Institute for Security StudiesEuropean Union Institute for Security StudiesThe European Union Institute for Security Studies is a Paris-based EU agency of the Common Foreign and Security Policy . Its goals are to find a common security culture for the EU, to help develop and project the CFSP, and to enrich Europe’s strategic debate.The EUISS is an autonomous agency with...