US Interagency Regional Foreign Policy Implementation: A Survey of Current Practice and an Analysis of Options for Improvement
Abstract
In today's ever-changing world, the United States depends upon a complex, multiagency structure to plan, synchronize, and execute its foreign policy and ensure its national security. The public servants who work to advance US interests and values overseas and keep our citizens safe at home and abroad invariably strive to coordinate with other agencies, the US military, and the intelligence community. But effective communication and coordination within and among the national security and foreign policy bureaucracy can sometimes nevertheless become a casualty of the exuberance and enthusiasm with which many managers and action officers go about their respective missions. In some ways, the working atmosphere among federal agencies today is similar to what the armed services experienced after the implementation of the landmark Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986: a steep learning curve on how to work with fellow military officers raised in a different bureaucratic culture. Even if an Army officer and an Air Force officer are superficially more similar than, say, a military officer and Foreign Service officer, it s hard to dismiss the shock that the sudden jointness brought to the services even though it s equally hard not to be impressed with the joint service culture that now prevails at the Department of Defense (DOD). Today, officials at all levels of State and Defense are going through the same process, albeit more gradually, in learning to speak the other s language. After overcoming a previous Pentagon leadership s exclusion of State from involvement in postwar Iraq, military officers and diplomats went on to build a strong mutual respect on the ground in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. This positive trend continues today. Communication between Defense and State in Washington and around the world is as strong and regular as I have seen in my 30 years working on political-military issues.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA617848
Entities
People
- Robert S. Pope
Organizations
- Air University