CNAS Releases New Publications on Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR)

Washington, D.C., September 16, 2010 – President Obama, Secretary Gates, Secretary Clinton and other Administration officials have called for more effective and capable diplomacy and development. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a recent foreign policy speech, "A central purpose of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review...is to explore how to effectively design, fund, and implement development and foreign assistance as part of a broader foreign policy."

The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) released today three publications that offer policy recommendations for the QDDR team as the State Department draws near its deadline to release the first ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR).

Planning Diplomacy and Development: Force Planning Applications for the State Department and USAID by Brian Burton draws lessons from the Pentagon's experience with force planning to help USAID and the State Department allocate their capabilities more effectively as they execute U.S. foreign policy objectives.

In Eye to the Future: Refocusing State Department Policy Planning, CNAS authors Richard Fontaine and Brian Burton argue that the ongoing QDDR process offers the Department a unique opportunity to improve its capacity to plan medium and long range foreign policy. This policy brief articulates central lessons learned in the decades since the establishment of the Policy Planning Staff and provides recommendations aimed at enhancing effectiveness.
 
Rebuilding Diplomacy: A Survey of Past Calls for State Department Transformation by Richard Weitz and Eugene Chow surveys past recommendations to overhaul the State Department and summarizes common suggestions for reform.

In her recent speech, Secretary Clinton addressed several additional security challenges facing the United States that CNAS undertakes in its research, including economic and budgetary challenges, Iraq, Afghanistan, terrorism, Mexico, climate change, resource scarcity, Iran and Indonesia.  These recently released CNAS reports are acutely relevant to national debates occurring today:
 
Restraint: Recalibrating American Strategy by Patrick Cronin calls for a recalibration of American strategy given the ongoing financial crisis and runaway budgets. 
 
The Next Phase in America's Relationship with Iraq, an event held on August 17, 2010, where Colin Kahl, Deputy Secretary of Defense for the Middle East, and Michael Corbin, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq, addressed the transition of responsibility from the Department of Defense to the Department of State and what the State Department needs to accomplish its mission. A full transcript of the event is available.
 
Leverage: Designing a Political Campaign for Afghanistan by Andrew Exum, suggests placing more emphasis on political engagement in Afghanistan.  He writes, “Politics is the blind spot in America’s counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan."

Rhetoric and Reality: Countering Terrorism in the Age of Obama by Marc Lynch calls on the Obama administration to more clearly articulate its counterterrorism strategy, adapt to new domestic threats, coordinate efforts to engage publics and counter extremist narratives and prepare for a successful attack well in advance.
 
Sustaining Security: How Natural Resources Influence National Security by Christine Parthemore and Will Rogers examines Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Mexico and Yemen as examples of how natural security challenges are directly linked to internal stability, regional dynamics, U.S. security and foreign policy interests.
 
America’s Extended Hand: Assessing the Obama Administration’s Global Engagement Strategy by Kristin Lord and Marc Lynch analyzes the Obama administration’s public engagement strategy in three key foreign policy areas – relations between the United States and the Muslim world, combating violent extremism, and promoting democracy and human rights – and four countries of strategic importance: Iran, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Crafting a Strategic Vision: A New Era of U.S.-Indonesia Relations by Abraham Denmark recommends strengthening economic and security cooperation between the United States and Indonesia as the two countries prepare to negotiate the bilateral Comprehensive Partnership Agreement this fall.
 
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The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) is an independent and nonpartisan research institution that develops strong, pragmatic and principled national security and defense policies. CNAS leads efforts to help inform and prepare the national security leaders of today and tomorrow.