Dinner Table Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the term used to describe the practice of countries communicating with each other and maintaining relationships. International negotiations, trade deals, and peace agreements are all examples of Diplomacy in action.

Diplomacy has been around for as long as people and nation-states have existed. Some of the earliest treaties between sovereign nations were record ed back in 2850 B.C. between Mesopatamian city-states in the area we now call the Middle East.

Modern-Day Diplomacy, with Permanent Embassies and diplomats started in 15th-century Italy, with Italian city-states sending diplomats abroad.

Diplomacy is complicated. It can be conducted at multiple levels of government, and there are even forms of Diplomacy that take place outside of governments and instead between everyday citizens (Citizen Diplomacy, Public Diplomacy). 

The most common way Diplomacy happens is between Diplomats, or between Government Officials, like Presidents or Kings/Queens. You will often see Presidents or Cabinet-level officials conducting diplomacy at conferences, trade meetings, State dinners, etc. These high-level conversations are oftentimes led by the ranking official, or the conversations are delegated to Ambassadors, Cabinet-Secretaries, or Diplomats to conduct on behalf of the President/King/Queen/Prime Minister. 

The most important thing to know about how Diplomacy works is this: It is about compromise. At the end of the day, signing a deal, brokering an agreement, or bringing peace to a conflict can only be accomplished through compromise. Thus, choosing leaders who can negotiate and find compromise with allies and enemies alike is increasingly important as our world grows closer and closer.

Many countries, the U.S. included, have a Diplomatic Corps of professionals whose job revolves around Diplomacy. In the U.S., we call our Diplomatic Corps the Foreign Service, and our Diplomats are Foreign Service Officers (FSOs.) These FSOs are stationed all around the world in Embassies, and specialize in one of several core competencies needed for Diplomacy. 

FSO’s come from all walks of life, and all 50 states. They are from small towns, big cities, and everything in between. The only requirement is to be 18, have a high school diploma, and pass a series of rigorous tests and interviews. 

Some FSOs join straight out of high school, some join after military service, others join after college, and others join in the middle of their careers. The one thing all FSOs have in common is a desire to serve the United States of America.

Did you know that FSOs swear the same Oath to the Constitution that U.S. military members serve when they join up?

American FSOs work tirelessly to advance U.S. interests all around the globe. They are negotiating trade agreements, helping U.S. businesses operate in other countries, recruiting foreign companies to do business in the U.S., assisting U.S. citizens traveling abroad, protecting the border of the U.S. by conducting visa interviews, educating the rest of the world about the United States and building ties between people, and so much more.

The work of American diplomats makes you safer by strengthening ties between the U.S. and countries overseas, making it less likely the U.S. is in unnecessary wars.

They bring goods and services to your doorstep by helping both U.S. and foreign companies do business with the United States.

They work with national security agencies like the NSA and CIA to stop terrorism and protect the U.S. abroad.

They manage the distribution of visas to visitors to the U.S., ensuring that dangerous individuals don’t get into the U.S. through legal channels. 

They work closely with local police districts and governments to ensure America citizens are safe when they travel, and spring into action anytime an American is involved in an accident, a crime, or a natural disaster to ensure the American citizen is accounted for and safe. 

The State Department, like all government agencies, is a hierarchical bureaucracy. As part of the executive branch, the State Department ultimately reports to the President. The President appoints a Secretary of State to manage the Department, acting like a CEO of sorts to manage the overall strategic direction and execution of the priorities of the President. 

The State Department is broken into large Bureaus – segments of the Department that focus on certain priorities or regions in the world. 

There are bureaus for each of the major regions in the world:

• The Western Hemisphere
• Europe & Eurasia
• Near Eastern (The Middle East and North Africa)
• Africa
• East Asia and the Pacific
• South and Central Asia

There are also Bureaus for things like:

• Diplomatic Technology
• Educational and Cultural Affairs
• Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
• Global Health Security and Diplomacy
• Cyberspace and Digital Policy
• Economic, Energy, and Business Affairs
• Counterterrorism
• International Narcotics and Law Enforcement
• And MANY more

The State Department has over 45 bureaus and between 45,000 and 70,000 employees around the world.

The employees of the State Department can be broken into three categories

• Foreign Service
• Civil Service
• Locally Employed Staff

The Foreign Service is the diplomatic corps of the United States. There are around 14,000 employees in the Foreign Service working in embassies all around the world, and also a number who work in Washington D.C. for tours. The Foreign Service moves jobs every two years. This is where the United States is unique for its diplomatic corps – where other countries may have diplomats working in one country for many years, the U.S. rotates our corps every two years. Why is that? To fight corruption, bribery, and complacency. By rotating FSOs, they are less susceptible to long-term relationships and bribery in their country of operation. However, that makes the life of an FSO both an exciting and difficult one – moving countries every two years can be taxing, and also requires them to learn languages quickly, sometimes amassing fluency in 6 or 7 languages in a career. FSOs take an Oath to the Constitution – the exact same one that military members take.

The Civil Service makes up the bulk of the staff located in Washington D.C – around 12,000 strong. These individuals provide much of the administrative support for the entire Department, and also act as a crucial connection to our Embassies overseas.They manage programs, execute policy, liaise with local embassies from other countries in the U.S., and provide a direct connection for FSOs to Washington. They also work alongside FSO coworkers to staff things like the Operations Center – a 24/7 command center for everything happening in the world, allowing the Department to react quickly and efficiently to events around the world. Like FSOs, the Civil Service takes the same Oath to the Constitution that military members take.

The Locally Employed Staff (LES) make up the bulk of the State Departments workforce – nearly 50,000 around the world. LES are individuals from other countries who staff our embassies and allow the embassies to function at peak efficiency. If you talk to any FSO, they will often tell you the LES are the most important people in the building, because they provide such local expertise and connection to the people that make an FSOs job much easier – ESPECIALLY when you realize that an FSO is only there for 2 years before transitioning to a new job. The LES help the FSOs get up to speed ASAP and provide institutional knowledge and support to keep the embassy running smoothly. While the FSOs are in charge of executing the President’s vision and policy, the LES reports to the FSO and provides the workforce to implement much of that vision.