Strengthening U.S. Diplomatic Practice: Challenges and Recommendations for the State Department

About this paper. This decision memo was originally written in early 2025, addressed to the Secretary of State at the start of the new administration. The analysis and recommendations are presented as written. Since then: in July 2025 the State Department sent layoff notices to more than 1,300 employees (1,107 civil servants and 246 Foreign Service officers) as part of a reorganization affecting more than 300 bureaus and offices.[1] In April 2025, the Secretary of State closed the office that tracked foreign disinformation, the successor to the Global Engagement Center, which had shut down in December 2024.[2] On May 5, 2026, the Department formally terminated more than 200 of the affected Foreign Service officers.[3] The workforce and capacity concerns raised here have only grown more pressing.

Issue for decision: Approve steps to strengthen the State Department’s capacity to meet growing global challenges and sustain U.S. leadership in diplomacy.

Background

The State Department faces a rapidly changing global landscape that challenges the United States’ role as a leader in international diplomacy. Rising conflicts, such as Russia’s war against Ukraine, and fast-moving technological challenges, including cyber threats and AI-enabled disinformation, require the Department to reassess its priorities and reform itself to preserve U.S. standing.

The key challenges are a shrinking workforce, a culture resistant to change, a constrained budget, and limited professional development. Together they put U.S. diplomacy at risk of falling behind, because the Department lacks the tools to pursue an ambitious diplomatic agenda.

Workforce reductions and strategic realignment

Reducing diplomatic and support staff would weaken the Department’s ability to manage global crises. Embassies in critical host countries would operate with thin staffing, limiting their outreach and influence, and the Department would lose diplomats and Foreign Service officers with decades of experience in complex relationships.

Losing that experience weakens crisis management. Senior officials bring expertise in delivering humanitarian aid, negotiating ceasefires, and mitigating conflict. Remaining staff would absorb the extra workload, raising burnout and lowering morale. A smaller workforce also means the United States cannot expand its presence in critical regions, leaving a vacuum that competitors such as China, already pursuing an active diplomatic strategy, can fill.

Recommendations

1. Audit and redeploy. The Bureau of Global Talent Management, working with the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions and the regional bureaus, should conduct internal audits to identify inefficiencies and redeploy up to 10% of staff from lower-conflict regions such as Western Europe to strategic priorities such as the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Europe.
2. Invest in priority skills. Increase personnel in cybersecurity, AI, public diplomacy, and economic affairs by up to 15%, through new hiring or reallocation, to counter cyber threats, monitor AI developments, combat disinformation, and advance U.S. economic interests. The Bureaus of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Global Public Affairs, and Economic and Business Affairs would lead in coordination with embassies, with Global Talent Management seeking OMB and congressional approval.
3. Establish a Reserve Diplomatic Corps. Create a surge-capacity reserve modeled on the military reserve, with job protections and retirement waivers, giving the Department a trained pool of experienced diplomats to reinforce embassies, conflict zones, and disaster response. Global Talent Management would design the personnel system and eligibility criteria, the Under Secretary for Management would handle operational and budget planning, and the Department would work with the Office of Personnel Management and Congress on benefits, legal waivers, and funding. A pilot could launch within 12–18 months with high-level backing, with full capacity in two to three years. The goal is greater readiness without expanding the full-time workforce.

Modernizing institutional culture

The Department’s tradition-oriented culture provides consistency and professionalism, but it has become a barrier to innovation. Outdated promotion systems, fear of reputational damage, and little institutional reward for experimentation reinforce a cautious approach to risk. Unlike its defense and private-sector counterparts, the Department has been slow to adapt to changes such as AI. Diplomats often hesitate to pursue bold ideas for fear of failure, producing a play-it-safe culture that holds back progress.

Recommendations

1. Reward calculated risk. Create risk-management training and formally recognize well-documented, strategic risk-taking in the field. The Bureau of Diplomatic Security would define operational risk parameters, the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) would design and deliver training, and the Under Secretary for Management would integrate the effort into embassy procedures and performance evaluations. Embedding risk literacy in pre-deployment and mid-career training, and clarifying accountability frameworks, would reduce the fear of failure in complex missions.
2. Adopt AI for cable analysis and disinformation tracking. Given its all-source analysis mandate, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research should lead, working with the Bureau of Global Public Affairs on disinformation monitoring and digital engagement, the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy on alignment with technology and cyber strategy, and the Bureau of Information Resource Management on secure technical implementation.
3. Replace rigid career cones with multi-functional rotations. Encourage flexible assignments across the political, economic, public diplomacy, consular, and management tracks. Global Talent Management would lead, FSI would redesign training pathways, the Director General of the Foreign Service would align promotion criteria, and senior leaders in each cone would identify shared core competencies. A proposal should reach the Under Secretary for Management and the Secretary within 9–12 months, informed by consultations with the American Foreign Service Association and pilot programs at selected embassies.

Budget constraints

Digital diplomacy has grown rapidly. With every nation focused on cyber threats and AI competitiveness, the Department needs a sustainable budget to keep the United States the partner of choice in a crisis as China and Russia compete for influence.

A smaller budget also limits training. Without it, staff struggle with new challenges such as AI-driven disinformation, and emerging technologies such as generative AI and advanced semiconductors make skills development more urgent. Cross-training and multi-functional rotations would let diplomats at small posts cover several roles, for example one officer handling both economic and public diplomacy work. Economic diplomacy is also essential to compete with China’s expanding embassy network and programs such as the Confucius Institutes.

Recommendations

1. Make the case to Congress with data. The Under Secretary for Management should gather evidence on gaps in training, staffing, and knowledge of emerging technology threats, and show how closing them strengthens U.S. standing under an America First foreign policy. Global Talent Management would assess training and staffing shortfalls, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research would evaluate emerging technology threats, FSI would align training to the identified needs, and the Chief Information Officer would assess technology capability gaps.
2. Create a digital public diplomacy task force. The Bureau of Global Public Affairs should lead a task force that uses AI and social media to track trends, counter disinformation, and amplify U.S. values, supported by the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, the Department’s counter-disinformation office, and public diplomacy sections at key embassies.
3. Modernize digital diplomacy training. FSI should expand its curriculum to include platform-specific modules (such as TikTok, WhatsApp, and Telegram) and AI tools for real-time trend analysis, updated regularly with field-tested case studies. The Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs should oversee the effort, with FSI presenting an updated training plan within 6–9 months, piloted at posts facing heavy digital influence threats.

Professional development

Although talented people continue to join the Department, it has been criticized for not giving them the tools to grow throughout their careers. Training and professional development have been a lower priority, and the Department needs more training capacity so its diplomats can keep pace with new technologies and emerging threats.

Recommendations

1. Create a training float. Modeled on military training programs, a float of senior Foreign Service officers and subject-matter experts would train new and existing officers on regional, technological, and economic trends. The Foreign Service does not necessarily need a much larger corps, but a more agile, knowledgeable, and continuously updated one. Global Talent Management would develop the framework and staffing model, FSI would deliver the content, and the Policy Planning Staff would integrate it into broader modernization plans, under the Under Secretary for Management’s oversight. A draft proposal could be ready in 6–9 months, followed by pilots in key regional bureaus.
2. Build a structured career development track. Global Talent Management should design a track with rotations in digital diplomacy, interagency collaboration, crisis management, and regional specialization, with FSI mapping training requirements, the Bureau of Global Public Affairs advising on digital diplomacy, the Bureaus of Conflict and Stabilization Operations and Political-Military Affairs advising on crisis management, and regional bureaus defining specialization tracks. A formal proposal, including a pilot cohort and evaluation criteria, should be submitted to the Secretary within 6–9 months.
3. Make crisis simulations routine. Integrate mandatory crisis simulations and scenario-based exercises into annual embassy operations, led by FSI and Diplomatic Security, localized by embassy management officers and Regional Security Officers, and overseen by the Under Secretary for Management.

Decisions requested

1. Staffing audit. Global Talent Management, the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, regional bureaus, and chiefs of mission form a task force to identify overstaffed and understaffed posts, reporting to the Under Secretary for Management within six months.
2. Reserve Diplomatic Corps. Global Talent Management, with Diplomatic Security, the Legal Adviser, and the Policy Planning Staff, submits a detailed proposal within 6–9 months, including a pilot framework, budget estimates, and legislative needs, to provide surge capacity, draw on retired officers and subject-matter experts, and preserve institutional knowledge.
3. Technology investment. Fund AI integration into the Department’s analytical work, led by Information Resource Management with Intelligence and Research, Cyberspace and Digital Policy, Management Strategy and Solutions, and FSI, within six months.
4. Training float. FSI, with Global Talent Management, the Director General of the Foreign Service, and the Under Secretary for Management, establishes a float of trainers for new and existing officers.
5. Budget case to Congress. The Bureau of Legislative Affairs presents the Department’s expanding role in sustaining U.S. global leadership to support a budget increase.
6. Risk-informed leadership. Global Talent Management reforms evaluation criteria to reward calculated risk-taking in pursuit of mission goals, establishes a risk-informed leadership award, and incorporates risk management into FSI training.