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By Hillary Rodham Clinton
Redefining American Diplomacy and Development
Today's world is a crucible of challenges testing American leadership. Global problems, from violent extremism to worldwide recession to climate change to poverty, demand collective solutions, even as power in the world becomes more diffuse. They require effective international cooperation, even as that becomes harder to achieve. And they cannot be solved unless a nation is willing to accept the responsibility of mobilizing action. The United States is that nation.
I began my tenure as U.S. Secretary of State by stressing the need to elevate diplomacy and development alongside defense -- a "smart power" approach to solving global problems. To make that approach succeed, however, U.S. civilian power must be strengthened and amplified. It must, as U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has argued in these pages, be brought into better balance with U.S. military power. In a speech last August, Gates said, "There has to be a change in attitude in the recognition of the critical role that agencies like [the] State [Department] and AID [the
This effort is under way.
But we must do more. We must not only rebuild -- but also rethink, reform, and recalibrate. During my years on the
The QDDR is not simply a review. It defines how to make diplomacy and development coordinated, complementary, and mutually reinforcing. It assesses what has worked in the past and what has not. And it forecasts future strategic choices and resource needs.
Although the
Diplomatic objectives are often secured by gains in development. The resumption of direct talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians over the summer was the handiwork of talented and persistent diplomacy. But progress at the negotiating table will be directly linked to progress in building strong and stable institutions for a Palestinian state and providing Israel with the security it needs. And development objectives are often secured by diplomatic engagement. The impact of the Feed the Future global hunger program and the Global Health Initiative will turn in part on the promotion of policy reforms in partner countries; the Millennium Challenge Compacts are in part the product of sustained political engagement designed to create positive conditions for development. In many places, including Afghanistan and Iraq, the need for mutually reinforcing diplomatic and development strategies stems from the combined causes and effects of violent conflict, instability, and weak states.
The two Ds in the QDDR reflect the world as the
Diplomacy has long been the backbone of U.S. foreign policy. It remains so today. The vast majority of my work at the
In annual strategic dialogues with a range of key partners -- including China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, and South Africa -- the United States aims to deepen and broaden its relationships and to establish a stronger foundation for addressing shared problems, advancing shared interests, and managing differences. The United States is investing in strengthening global structures such as the G-20 and regional institutions such as the
Although traditional diplomacy will always be critical to advancing the United States' agenda, it is not enough.
The original Foreign Service, as its name implies, consisted of people trained to manage U.S. relations with foreign states, principally through consultations with their counterparts in government. This has been the main function of U.S. ambassadors and embassies, as well as the staff at the
Consider the U.S. embassy in Islamabad. The mission includes 800 staff members; about 450 are diplomats and civil servants from the
Back in Washington, my responsibility as secretary is to ensure that the Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel within the
Foreign Service officers, Civil Service personnel, and local staff at the
Engagement must go far beyond government-to-government interactions. In this information age, public opinion takes on added importance even in authoritarian states and as nonstate actors are more able to influence current events. Today, a U.S. ambassador creates ties not only with the host nation's government but also with its people. The QDDR endorses a new public diplomacy strategy that makes public engagement every diplomat's duty, through town-hall meetings and interviews with the media, organized outreach, events in provincial towns and smaller communities, student exchange programs, and virtual connections that bring together citizens and civic organizations. Indeed, in the twenty-first century, a diplomat is as likely to meet with a tribal elder in a rural village as a counterpart in a foreign ministry, and is as likely to wear cargo pants as a pinstriped suit.
Public diplomacy must start at the top. In Indonesia and Turkey, I conducted bilateral meetings with government officials, but I also met with civil-society leaders and appeared as a guest on popular television talk shows. I have held town-hall meetings with diverse groups of citizens on every continent I have visited, as I have done throughout my career. Public events such as these are as much a part of my job as secretary of state as my meetings in foreign ministries, because the durability of the United States' partnerships abroad will depend on the attitudes of the people as well as the policies of their governments.
In Washington, too, the
We can also leverage civilian power by connecting businesses, philanthropists, and citizens' groups with partner governments to perform tasks that governments alone cannot. Technology, in particular, provides new tools of engagement. One great success this year was a partnership forged almost overnight among U.S. and Haitian cell-phone companies, the
Foreign trips by delegations of Americans with expertise in technology have also produced promising avenues for innovative partnerships in fields such as agriculture and health. One such visit to Russia, for example, helped pave the way for a public-private partnership called "text4baby," which will provide a mobile application for pregnant women and new mothers to get health tips through their cell phones and to allow them to monitor their own pregnancies.
Looking down the road to the forces that will shape global politics tomorrow, it becomes clear how the material conditions of people's lives can affect U.S. national security objectives. While USAID leads U.S. development work overseas,
This comprehensive approach is essential to U.S. engagement in many regions. In Mexico, for example, the United States continues to support law enforcement efforts to arrest and prosecute members of drug cartels, but it has also begun the next phase of the Merida Initiative, working with Mexican partners -- in government, business, and civil society -- to strengthen justice systems and promote a "culture of legality" in local communities.
When the diverse elements of U.S. civilian power work cohesively -- as in many embassies around the world, and on the best days in Washington -- the potential impact of a global civilian service becomes evident. There is no guarantee that this comprehensive approach will achieve every goal, especially where the challenges are as entrenched and complex as they are in places such as Haiti, Pakistan, or Yemen. But it is the best alternative we have, and one we must pursue.HIGH-IMPACT DEVELOPMENT
I am sometimes asked why development matters to U.S. foreign policy and why the United States should spend money on people overseas when it has economic challenges at home. As counterintuitive as it may seem, the answer is that development, when done effectively, is one of the best tools to enhance the United States' stability and prosperity. It can strengthen fragile or failing states, support the rise of capable partners that can help solve regional and global problems, and advance democracy and human rights.
At the same time, it is important to acknowledge that although the world's problems are vast, the United States' resources are not. As stewards of American taxpayer dollars, the
The QDDR embraces development as a process of assisted self-help in the furtherance of American interests and values. A developing country must be in charge and set its own goals for meeting the needs of its people. The U.S. government comes to the table as a partner, not a patron, lending resources and expertise and, eventually, putting itself out of business when a host country is self-sustaining.
Today, the Obama administration is putting that partnership model into practice in two signature initiatives that it announced over the past year: the Global Health Initiative and Feed the Future, part of the administration's broader global food-security initiative.
The Global Health Initiative recognizes that the landscape for health in many developing countries has improved over the years, due in part to George W. Bush's President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), his President's Malaria Initiative (PMI), and the contributions of many other countries and organizations. But this more crowded landscape does not necessarily improve health outcomes efficiently or for the long term.
The fundamental purpose of the Global Health Initiative is to put an end to isolated and sporadic care by tying individual health programs -- PEPFAR; the PMI; and programs regarding maternal and children's health, family planning, neglected tropical diseases, and other critical health areas -- together in an integrated, coordinated, and sustainable system of care, with the affected countries themselves in the lead.
The Feed the Future initiative is based on the same principles. To give one example, Bangladesh is developing its own food-security investment plan based in part on consultations in a public forum with more than 500 representatives from civil society, academia, think tanks, and the private sector. The strategy has been reviewed by independent technical experts and is being further refined by national leaders and other experts. The U.S. government is now developing an investment plan in support of Bangladesh's strategy, in full collaboration with other governments and international donors.
This is what partnership looks like in practice. Partner governments will almost certainly choose to do things differently from how the United States might, or they might outline different priorities. Vetting and investing in these governments' plans may take longer than delivering services ourselves. But the result promises a sustainable strategy that will continue even after U.S. assistance has ended.
The QDDR also focuses on the diplomatic side of effective development policy, arguing for building much stronger and more systematic links between the
Diplomacy can support development policy in different ways. The United States' most important diplomatic effort with China in recent years -- the Strategic and Economic Dialogue -- includes high-level discussions about development and about what it means to the two countries' respective and collective efforts in Africa and elsewhere. Before the 2009 meeting of the G-8 in L'Aquila, Italy, high-level engagement with partner governments enabled the United States to secure a $20 billion international commitment to promoting food security, building a coalition of countries willing to contribute. And at the 2009 Summit of the Americas, President Obama launched the
But diplomacy and development can only be mutually reinforcing if the U.S. government also get its own house in order. The first step is to move beyond agency "stovepiping" and use all the talent and expertise within the federal government. The Global Health Initiative, for example, is jointly led by the USAID administrator, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, and the director of the
The QDDR also recommends specific internal reforms within USAID, some of which have already begun. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah has laid out an aggressive set of operational priorities called USAID Forward, which are designed to make the agency more effective, accountable, and transparent. In coordination with other QDDR recommendations, USAID Forward concentrates on procurement, people, and policy.
Procurement reform has as its goal the building of local capacities in the countries where the United States works by drawing on the talent and expertise of small businesses and nongovernmental organizations. Senegal, for example, has more than 1,400 so-called health huts, where local health workers trained by USAID provide basic and often lifesaving treatments, lowering costs and moving the country closer to the day when U.S. aid will no longer be necessary.
To reform policy, USAID has already created the new
USAID will also rely on the innovations of science and technology to help it work better, cheaper, and faster in the pursuit of high-impact development. Cell phones have already transformed the lives of countless people in sub-Saharan Africa. Imagine what the world would look like if off-grid renewable energy provided illumination to billions of people now living in the dark or if more kinds of drought-resistant seeds existed for farmers in the developing world. The QDDR endorses USAID's creation of
Just recently, USAID funded the trial of a vaginal microbicide that reduces the transmission of HIV/AIDS by 30 percent, a major breakthrough in preventing HIV transmission that will give women more control over their health. USAID and the
As the
American civilians have long operated in conflict zones and fragile states. But now, U.S. diplomats and development experts are being asked to undertake missions of a scale and a scope never seen before. The United States' task in Iraq is to lead a broad mission in support of the Iraqi people as they build a multiethnic democratic state. At the same time, the United States is responsible in Afghanistan for helping reduce the strength of the insurgency there, improve governance, and promote stability that will last after U.S. troops return home. In Pakistan, Washington is assisting a government and a society buffeted by the global economic recession, natural disasters, and regional instability, while supporting a counterterrorism and counterinsurgency campaign. Today, 20 percent of the U.S. diplomatic corps and nearly ten percent of U.S. development professionals are stationed in these three countries -- where democracy is young, institutions are struggling to serve local populations, society is ethnically or religiously divided, and security is an ongoing challenge. Beyond those countries, the United States is working to stabilize fragile states from Somalia and Sudan to Haiti and Kyrgyzstan.
Given this unprecedented situation, the
The United States had 170,000 troops in Iraq during the surge in 2007; today, there are 50,000 U.S. troops assigned to support Iraqi government forces. On the ground are about 1,600 civilians -- diplomats, stabilization and reconstruction experts, and development professionals in charge of helping Iraq transition to a stable and prosperous democracy. Similarly, in Afghanistan, the U.S. contribution to reconstruction and redevelopment is now led by about 1,100 diplomats and civilian experts who will remain there after U.S. troops are gone.
These numbers say something important about civilian power and leadership. Properly trained and equipped, civilians are force multipliers. One effective diplomat or development expert can leverage as many as ten local partners, and when local partners build their own capacities and networks, communities become stronger and more resilient.
Civilian leadership in addressing conflict and instability also depends on marshaling and leveraging the varied assets of the U.S. government as a whole. Under the leadership of strong ambassadors and agency representatives, collaboration among American civilians from across the government has reached new levels in Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Pakistan, and elsewhere. Washington is pooling the expertise of civilians at the
The QDDR also draws on the talents of the
The QDDR recommends building rapid-response diplomatic teams and cultivating specially trained experts who can operate effectively over the longer term amid conflict and instability. Since the end of the Cold War, the
In Yemen, the U.S. embassy is working to address poor economic conditions and the ravages of poverty in a country that has recently faced a secessionist movement in the south, a rebellion in the north, and a persistent threat from al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula. Through the
Poverty and repression do not automatically engender terrorism, but countries that are impoverished, corrupt, lawless, or mired in recurring cycles of conflict are more prone to becoming havens for terrorists and other criminals. Al Qaeda first operated out of Sudan and bombed U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania before migrating to Afghanistan, then a country notable for its poverty, high infant mortality, and repressive Taliban government. It is no coincidence that al Qaeda is most active today in underdeveloped nations such as Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. Beyond terrorism and violent extremism, drug cartels, criminal gangs funded by the illicit exploitation of natural resources, and gender-based sexual violence can also dramatically undermine governments in ways that can have dangerous consequences for an entire region.
On the positive side, civilian power has worked effectively with military forces to impede conflict and to contribute to stability. In Liberia, as fighting between rebel groups and government forces under the leadership of Charles Taylor intensified and as the humanitarian situation deteriorated, the United States undertook intense diplomatic efforts, including public calls for Taylor's resignation, as well as military deployments to the region, to help shore up the peacekeeping efforts of the
The American people must understand that spending taxpayer dollars on diplomacy and development is in their interest, especially when those investments support missions in conflict zones, fragile states, and states that can play a responsible role in their regions and in the world. And
The House and the
An emphasis on civilian power is in keeping with America's history and traditions. The Marshall Plan was a civilian development initiative undertaken with European governments. Eleanor Roosevelt chaired the drafting committee that produced the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Decades before the term "soft power" was coined, President John F. Kennedy founded the
The men and women who volunteer for the United States armed forces exemplify this spirit. So do the growing number of people who work for the civilian agencies that advance U.S. interests around the world. With the right balance of civilian and military power, the United States can advance its interests and values, lead and support other nations in solving global problems, and forge strong diplomatic and development partnerships with traditional allies and newly emerging powers. And we can rise to the challenges of the world in the twenty-first century and meet the tests of America's global leadership.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON is U.S. Secretary of State.
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