Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the U.S. Foreign Service

Career Diplomacy -- now in its second edition -- is an insider's guide that examines the foreign service as an institution, a profession, and a career. Harry W. Kopp and Charles A. Gillespie, both of whom had long and distinguished careers in the foreign service, provide a full and well-rounded picture of the organization, its place in history, its strengths and weaknesses, and its role in American foreign affairs. Based on their own experiences and through interviews with over 100 current and former foreign service officers and specialists, the authors lay out what to expect in a foreign service career, from the entrance exam through midcareer and into the senior service -- how the service works on paper, and in practice.

The second edition addresses major changes that have occurred since 2007: the controversial effort to build an expeditionary foreign service to lead the work of stabilization and reconstruction in fragile states; deepening cooperation with the U.S. military and the changing role of the service in Iraq and Afghanistan; the ongoing surge in foreign service recruitment and hiring at the Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development; and the growing integration of USAID's budget and mission with those of the Department of State.

Harry W. Kopp is a former foreign service officer and consultant in international trade. He was deputy assistant secretary of state for international trade policy in the Carter and Reagan administrations and his foreign assignments included Warsaw and Brasília. He is now president of Harry Kopp, LLC, a consulting company. He is the author of Commercial Diplomacy and the National Interest.

Charles A. Gillespie was a former foreign service officer and was deputy assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs; American ambassador to Grenada, Colombia, and Chile; and special assistant to the president on the National Security Council staff. He was a principal in The Scowcroft Group, a consulting company. He was also a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Business Council for International Understanding, and the Forum for International Policy.