State of play at State

Posted By Daniel W. Drezner Friday, January 23, 2009 - 4:38 PM Share

My second National Interest column in a week is now online, and evaluates the recent high-profile appointments at the State department. Let's just say I'm wary:

There are rumors aplenty of fierce battles within Foggy Bottom between the special envoys and undersecretaries for coveted offices on the seventh floor (where Clinton will be). As Daniel Markey points out, foreign policy for south Asia has been a “toxic mix of turf battles.” Holbrooke is simply another bureaucratic entrepreneur (one opposed by the Indians, by the way). The Obama administration is already having difficulties finding someone who would agree to serve as assistant secretary of state for south Asia. This is because, to put it gently, the transaction costs of dealing with Holbrooke can be high. Similarly, the relationship between Mitchell and Dennis Ross, who has been touted to be a “super-envoy” for the Middle East, remains unclear.
There is one, final, sobering thought. The person who will be directing this great game of diplomatic egos will be Hillary Clinton.

Read the whole thing. And in the interest of fairness, check out Jacob Heilbrunn's more optimistic take on yesterday's scene at Foggy Bottom. This is one issue where I sincerely hope that I am wrong and Heilbrunn is right.

EXPLORE:U.S. FOREIGN POLICY, BUREAUCRATIC POLITICS, STATE DEPARTMENT

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BRETT

8:45 PM ET

January 23, 2009

I'm not so optimistic about

I'm not so optimistic about Holbrooke. He negotiated the Dayton Peace Accords, but those Accords are responsible for the abominable structure of the Bosnian government today, and are a source of possible instability (due the possibility of the Republiak Srbska breaking off).

ZATHRAS

9:36 PM ET

January 24, 2009

Between the two National

Between the two National Interest columnists on this subject, Dan is the one who knows what he is talking about.

Heilbrunn waits until the last paragraph to mention the mechanics of foreign policy in an administration with such a high ratio of chiefs to Indians. These are of least importance at appointment-announcement ceremonies at the beginning of an administration; they can complicate or undermine even well-conceived policy later.

I give President Obama the same credit Dan does for attracting talented people to his administration, but have the same concerns he does about how the policymaking process will be managed.