Career Diplomacy

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

by Harry W. Kopp and John K. Naland

Georgetown University Press

Career Diplomacy: Life and Work in the US Foreign Service

Career Diplomacy is an insider’s guide to the US Foreign Service as an institution, a profession, and a career.  It has sold more than 25,000 copies The fourth edition was published in 2021.

Career Diplomacy is a masterful summary of the roles and responsibilities of our modern day diplomatic service. It is must reading for current and future practitioners and also commended to our legislators and those involved in the new administration. Career Diplomacy not only thoroughly explains what the US Foreign Service does, but also reminds us of the indispensable role it plays in supporting our  national security.”
Hon. John D. Negroponte, former Deputy Secretary of State and Director of National Intelligence

Career Diplomacy paints a vivid, meticulous portrait of Foreign Service Life and a powerful case for diplomacy’s continuing significance. In an increasingly fragmented and confusing world, we’ll need American diplomats more than ever to help make sense of a changing landscape and mobilize coalitions to meet its challenges.”
— William J. Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, former Deputy Secretary of State, former Ambassador to Russia

“Harry Kopp and John Naland have updated superbly the classic work on the diplomatic profession, providing a comprehensive, thoughtful, and frank portrayal of the US Foreign Service, past, present, and future.”
— David Petraeus (US Army, Ret.), commander of the surges in Iraq and Afghanistan

Career Diplomacy is not–or not solely–a guide for the aspiring diplomat. It is a window into who our country’s diplomats are, and why they serve.”
— Barbara K. Bodine, Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy and Director of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

“An incredibly comprehensive and all-encompassing narrative on American diplomacy–a lucid, but sober and compelling, description of a generally unknown and unappreciated corps of professionals dedicated to serving America. It will inspire and guide those Americans seeking to follow those who have gone before.”
— Edward W. Gnehm, Jr., former ambassador to Jordan and Director General of the Foreign Service