Talking to Strangers: Improving American Diplomacy at Home and Abroad

In this discerning book, Monteagle Stearns, former career diplomat & ambassador, argues that foreign policymakers don't need a new doctrine, as some commentators suggest, but rather a new attitude toward international affairs &, most especially, new ways of learning from the Foreign Service. True, the word strangers in his title refers to foreigners. However, it also refers to American foreign policymakers & diplomats, whose failure to "speak each other's language" deprives foreign policy of realism & coherence. In a world where regions have become more important than blocs, ethnic & transnational problems more important than superpower rivalries, foreign policy must be better informed if it's to be more effective. The insights required won't come from summit meetings or tv specials but from the 1sthand observations of trained Foreign Service officers. He's not written an apologia for the Foreign Service, however. His criticism of many of its weaknesses is biting. Ranging from a description of Benjamin Franklin's mission to France to an analysis of the Gulf War & its aftermath, he offers a balanced critique of how American diplomacy developed in reaction to European models & how it needs to be changed to satisfy the demands of the 21st century. Full of examples drawn from experience, Talking to Strangers addresses the problems that arise not only from an overly politicized foreign policy process but also from excessive bureaucratization & lack of leadership in the Foreign Service itself. Anyone interested in our nation's future will benefit from reading his pull-no-punches analysis of why improving diplomacy should be a matter of urgent concern.