Clinton Boosts Careers in Diplomacy and Development

Good news for DU’s Korbel School of International Studies.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s article in the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs makes a comprehensive case for strengthening our nation’s civilian power to better balance and amplify U.S. objectives that are now mostly supported by U.S. military power.

She has added 1,100 Foreign Service and Civil Service officers. Also, USAID has added 1,200 new officers with skills in development. The University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies should be a major beneficiary of this new direction. The School’s strong background in diplomacy and development aligns well with careers in the government’s foreign policy institutions.

The State Department now describes its mission as twofold – diplomacy and development. Embassies are now multidimensional organizations that coordinate, facilitate and leverage a myriad of public and private groups and programs alongside their traditional diplomatic consultations.

Clinton advocates the use of metrics and has applied the Quadrennial Defense Review approach used by the military to create a like-purposed Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review for State and USAID departments to design and align their resources and strategies.

Her emphasis on evidence-based management and mission design, close partnership between diplomacy and development, and coordination across government agencies and with the military should create additional opportunities for careers in foreign affairs. Such opportunities are good news for DU’s Korbel School and with its programs, such as the Futures Institute and the emphasis on diplomacy and development.

Clinton is very cognizant of the importance of public opinion vs. leadership opinion, and she mentioned the application of new technology, such as cell phones and social media to communicate with the general public in foreign countries. Popular movements in Iran, Tunisia and Ukraine owe much to cell phones, the Internet and social media than to any traditional form of communication.

All in all, Clinton’s strategies portend a very robust future for careers in diplomacy and development and for schools like Korbel.

See Foreign Affairs, Volume 89, No. 6, November/December 2010
Hillary Rodham Clinton, Leading Through Civilian Power: Redefining American Diplomacy and Development