The Reluctant Diplomat

This is the brief story of my (anything-but-brief) book, The Reluctant Diplomat. It’s a gargantuan blend of stories, observations, and explanations of diplomacy and diplomatic life. Unwieldy might be another word for it. Full of fascinating material? Yes! Publishable? No! (If you disagree, call me.) But it is oh so scavangeable.

And perfect for the SP/FS Substack, where I can not only choose relevant passages, but add photos and media. All the great soft power stuff without any of the fear and loathing caused by morning huddles, litigious local staff, or Expo fundraising blunders.

Here’s the background:

In 2014, when I was preparing to make the ridiculously soft transition from being the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to the PAO in Milan, Italy—a four-hour drive away, with about 130 roadside opportunities for world-class coffee in between—I decided to write a book about Foreign Service life.

My concept was to capture the reality of an overseas tour from beginning to end, from the choicest perks of diplomatic life to the mind-numbing bureaucracy that accompanied them. I would use humor, mix in some history and context, and flash back to incredible stories from my then-dozen years in the State Department. While Italy was not exactly a hardship post, it was a spectacular backdrop. Plus, Milan was hosting a World’s Fair (Expo Milano), there would be a Presidential election, the Venice Biennale, and who knew what else?

Flash forward. A year after my 2022 retirement, I was sitting on an unfinished manuscript of around 1,300 pages. And it was no mere unfinished book. It was many unfinished books.

• There was the promised chronicle of a tour—in a small but overperforming consulate where people often couldn’t stand each other.

• There was a voluminous outline of the State Department's work, especially regarding soft power and public diplomacy. (And bureaucracy!)

• There was the tragic, in-depth exposé of the behind-the-scenes shenanigans and chicanery of our Expo partners, who regularly and uncannily snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. (When published, it will require more pseudonyms than you can shake a stick at).

• There is another entire book about the unlikely rise and election of Donald Trump that pretty accurately sets up the disastrous diplomacy on display today (it did not require much imagination, I am sorry to say). In fact, the book ends at the G7, in Taormina, during Trump’s first international trip. I was the one explaining what Embassies do to the First Lady’s team, who did not seem to care.

• There was a litany of cameos by famous (and infamous) characters.

• And there were many anecdotes from my own career as a diplomat, outlining numerous public diplomacy programs I designed—for better and worse.

In sum, the (unfinished) 1,300-page tome did not cause literary agents to stampede to my door.

Yet I still took the audacious step of submitting the whole whopping manuscript to the State Department’s Office of Information Programs and Services for clearance. With a few back-and-forths (WikiLeaks’ alleged cables!) and the gratifying feedback that "people need to read this,” they signed off.

Because, of course. Stay tuned.

First up: A Brief History of Public Diplomacy, 1916 - 1960 (Part 1)

LISTEN: "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" - Bob Dylan