So, You Want to be a Diplomat...

BY ALEXANDROS ZERVOS

Free housing, fabulous parties, and exotic locations. Does this sound like the life for you? Then you might want to be a diplomat. Read on to get the inside scoop on embassy life from our foreign correspondent Alexi Zervos.

Popular imagination reserves a special place for United States diplomats. Many envision a group of mysterious figures, striding from one spectacular reception to another, whispering into mobile phones and typing into laptop computers of the latest technology as they toy with the fates of nations. The mystique of this group is not diminished by the media exposure it receives. Invariably, embassy personnel are photographed in the company of the famous at the social events of the glamorous, or alternatively alleged to be involved in the nefarious plots that form the primary mission of the State Department according to a surprisingly large proportion of the world’s media. The truth, as is so often the case when comparing reality to the popular imagination, is somewhat more prosaic. United States diplomats do indeed live interesting lives, take part in memorable social events and engage in activities their host governments sometimes disapprove of. The vast majority of diplomats do not, however, have lives resembling that of James Bond. The United States Foreign Service instead provides an environment in many ways comparable to that of civil service employees of more mundane federal agencies like the Labor Department. The only difference is that their work takes place abroad. Its staff helps American citizens and corporations in their endeavors, and advances the foreign policy goals of the United States while monitoring developments in their area of the world. As a summer intern in the political section of the US embassy in Athens, I was allowed to observe and assist with the foreign service’s mission. Though the work was indeed very different from the stereotype, it was no less interesting. I was able to help complete the Human Rights Report, interviewing minorities and assessing the validity of various representatives. I met with officials from the Foreign Ministry to discuss the visits of various third-country dignitaries, and wrote cables to a variety of posts concerning the political situation in Greece. On a lighter side, newspaper stories concerning supposed illicit activities of my co-workers provided some comic relief. To cite but one example, imaginative reporters of one newspaper transformed a routine trip to Northern Greece by the human rights officer to interview “false mufties,” into an illicit mission to sell Stinger missiles to Kurdish Separatists fighting Turkey in order to blame Greece for the sale. In order to achieve its aims, the State Department has four basic sections, known as “cones”. Probably the most well-known is “political,” which monitors the domestic and international political activities of foreign nations and their effects on U.S. interests across the globe. The political in each country’s embassy delivers messages to foreign governments concerning questions of interest to the United States-this is known as “delivering demarches”—and cultivates contacts with people representing wide political spectra in order to gain an understanding of foreign countries’ political situation. The political section is also responsible for monitoring human rights across the world, and each embassy’s section is required to contribute a yearly country report on the subject for the State Department’s annual “Human Rights Report”. But most of a political officer’s time is spent speaking to officials in foreign ministries and writing cables describing various political events using media reports and their host-country contacts as sources. In fact, aside from having to mark every paragraph they write with one of four classification symbols (ranging from “secret” to “unclassified”) a junior political officer could at times, easily be mistaken for a journalist.

The other three sections of an embassy are the Economic, Consular, and Administrative cones. “Economic”, aside from its different subject matter, is very similar to “Political”. “Consular” is the one which actually helps American citizens directly by providing everything from routine passport renewal to prison visits. “Administrative” deals with the actual embassies’ organization, coordinating everything from sanitation to security. Of course many embassies also house other employees as well-from the Commerce Department to intelligence services. Nevertheless, although these staff may enjoy diplomatic immunity, they are distinguished from foreign service officers. “The Foreign Service isn’t just a career-it’s a whole way of life,” said one wise diplomat. The nature of a diplomat’s occupation has certain benefits and liabilities not found in other lines of work. One such mixed blessing is that diplomats are transferred to different countries every few years. On the one hand, this presents the opportunity to explore the world, with the added benefit of free housing and amenities ranging from low-cost domestic workers (in developing countries), to exemptions from host country parking fines and access to American products unavailable to the average expatriate. The constant relocation ensures that you will never be cursed with unpleasant co-workers for too long, and can prove extremely educational for children, who usually attend high-quality overseas schools at taxpayer expense while learning about a variety of cultures. The negatives of the transitory diplomatic life are not to be taken lightly however. Even if both adult partners in a family work for the State Department, it is difficult to maintain dual-career families as someone almost always has to sacrifice career opportunities in order to keep a family together. Additionally, while relocation can be exciting for children, it can be traumatizing as well and long-term friendships are more difficult to create and maintain. Even moving back to the United States can be difficult. Besides adjusting to changes that may have occurred while the Foreign Service officer has been away, many benefits available to diplomats overseas (like free housing and health insurance) are suspended when they perform required tours in the United States. “From sink to mink and back to sink” is the way one experienced embassy wife put it.

The Foreign Service isn’t just a career -- it’s a whole way of life.           The chance to represent United States policy is in itself a mixed blessing.

Frequent moves from one country to another are not the only characteristic feature of diplomatic life. Diplomats often enjoy great prestige, which can make life pleasant—but this same prestige makes diplomats a prime target for terrorist attacks. Diplomats often hear about news before everyone else and in return, have to suffer from obsessive secrecy regulations in their office. The competitive nature of the State Department ensures that colleagues are usually bright, well-informed and extremely patriotic, but, as in the military, a vigorous “up or out” system sees many people who imagined themselves as career diplomats retired onto the streets in middle age, with few definable skills to offer the private sector. Finally, the chance to represent United States policy is in itself a mixed blessing-a diplomat must publicly support all positions of the United States government, including those he or she mightprivately disagree with. People with an aversion to stretches of the truth might want to consider alternative careers.
As indicated, one of the best ways to explore whether a career with the State Department suits you is through the State Department experiences
program. These internships can be in Washington D.C. or in embassies throughout the world, and are available throughout the year-Spring, Summer and Fall, to those who have completed their sophomore years. Though the internships are unpaid, overseas posts do provide housing for interns free of charge, and Yale has a number of fellowships that can be used to fund these internships. Applications for the summer internship are due by November 1st before the summer you wish to begin. This early deadline is necessary due to the Security Clearance process, which is in itself quite
onerous. Prepare for a sixteen page form asking intimate questions about yourself and habits, and the probability of inspectors requesting Yale for your disciplinary file. Interns, at least at embassies, are treated very much like junior foreign service officers. They write cables, issue passports and take part in almost all the work of their section. For more information and an application, check out the State Department’s website at http://www.state.gov .
The US diplomatic service can be an exciting way of life. The pay, though modest, is adequate, and the opportunity to communicate and shape foreign policy is rare. Entrance to the Foreign Service is via competitive written and oral examination and being an Ivy League graduate is no longer the advantage it was in the days of Dean Acheson. For those, however, who do pass the competitive examination and enter the diplomatic corps, a vibrant lifestyle awaits, with interesting, diverse and intelligent co-workers, and the chance to support the foreign policy aims of the United States.