This is a great article. Agree with the points raised, and think it is very balanced. Thank you for writing this.
One thing I would add → the article touches on the frustrations of bureaucracy—this is definitely a big limiting factor.
But I would add sometimes as a diplomat you will be called upon to do things you disagree with… not just things you think are a waste of time, but things that in some way you think are a bad idea.
It might be helping the US export meat around the world, or siding with some pretty nasty regimes important for geopolitics, or cutting the aid budget in a country that really needs it. It might just be that you can’t publicly speak your mind on issues you care about.
To be fair, the politicians are elected, so they should get to call the shots, and if you don’t like it, you can always quit. But I think many people would find this difficult to stomach, and that might mean a diplomatic career isn’t for them.
This is a great point—diplomats are often reminded (even as early as onboarding) that we must be willing to implement policies we don’t agree with. This point perhaps didn’t come to mind when drafting because this scenario can be avoided by selecting diplomatic assignments where you agree with the mission. This is also probably easier for diplomats (like me) who are in the Economic career track. The offices/countries where I’ve worked, we’ve pursued long-term sustainable economic growth, energy resilience, earthquake preparedness, science/tech/health cooperation, and better/expanded social safety nets. The risk for being assigned somewhere you do not agree with is highest in the first four years when you have limited control of where you go.
To use your example of aid cuts for illustrating how nuanced this can be: diplomats are likely to fight tooth-and-nail against aid cuts in countries that need it. While the diplomat might have the bad luck of delivering the news, they’ll have been in a position to fight the cuts for months (within the government, not publicly). The diplomats might then be able to pursue other types of financial support, citing lack of aid as a major reason.
Yep. I agree with Abi. I also I think this is true in any industry. Or even just as a taxpaying citizen. It’s just really hard to have one’s ethics be completely aligned with anything. But exiting doesn’t make those ethical problems disappear. You just leave them for someone else to deal with.
This is a great article. Agree with the points raised, and think it is very balanced. Thank you for writing this.
One thing I would add → the article touches on the frustrations of bureaucracy—this is definitely a big limiting factor.
But I would add sometimes as a diplomat you will be called upon to do things you disagree with… not just things you think are a waste of time, but things that in some way you think are a bad idea.
It might be helping the US export meat around the world, or siding with some pretty nasty regimes important for geopolitics, or cutting the aid budget in a country that really needs it. It might just be that you can’t publicly speak your mind on issues you care about.
To be fair, the politicians are elected, so they should get to call the shots, and if you don’t like it, you can always quit. But I think many people would find this difficult to stomach, and that might mean a diplomatic career isn’t for them.
This is a great point—diplomats are often reminded (even as early as onboarding) that we must be willing to implement policies we don’t agree with. This point perhaps didn’t come to mind when drafting because this scenario can be avoided by selecting diplomatic assignments where you agree with the mission. This is also probably easier for diplomats (like me) who are in the Economic career track. The offices/countries where I’ve worked, we’ve pursued long-term sustainable economic growth, energy resilience, earthquake preparedness, science/tech/health cooperation, and better/expanded social safety nets. The risk for being assigned somewhere you do not agree with is highest in the first four years when you have limited control of where you go.
To use your example of aid cuts for illustrating how nuanced this can be: diplomats are likely to fight tooth-and-nail against aid cuts in countries that need it. While the diplomat might have the bad luck of delivering the news, they’ll have been in a position to fight the cuts for months (within the government, not publicly). The diplomats might then be able to pursue other types of financial support, citing lack of aid as a major reason.
Yep. I agree with Abi. I also I think this is true in any industry. Or even just as a taxpaying citizen. It’s just really hard to have one’s ethics be completely aligned with anything. But exiting doesn’t make those ethical problems disappear. You just leave them for someone else to deal with.