Leading Through Civilian Power

Somewhere in the world today, a jeep winds its way through a remote region of a developing country. Inside are a State Department diplomat with deep knowledge of the area's different ethnic groups and a USAID development expert with long experience helping communities lift themselves out of poverty. They are on their way to talk with local councils about a range of projects that could make life better for thousands of people while improving local attitudes toward the United States. They are not strangers to this region, nor are they the only American officials to visit. Their mission is part of a larger coordinated strategy that draws on all the tools of our foreign policy. To build an effective partnership with their host country and advance America's interests and values, these U.S. civilians on the ground will often have to work as a seamless team, bringing their unique strengths to bear and adapting together to fast-changing circumstances on the ground. Civilian power is the combined force of women and men across the U.S. government who are practicing diplomacy, implementing development projects, strengthening alliances and partnerships, preventing and responding to crises and conflict, and advancing America's core interests: security, prosperity, universal values-especially democracy and human rights-and a just international order. They are the people who negotiate peace treaties, stand up for human rights, strengthen our economic cooperation and development, and lead interagency delegations to conferences on climate change. It is the civilian side of the government working as one, just as our military services work together as a unified force. These civilians ask one question again and again: How can we do a better job of advancing the interests of the American people? The answer should be the same for every agency and department: We can work smarter and better by setting clear priorities, managing for results, holding ourselves accountable, and unifying our efforts. The first-ever Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review aims to meet these goals by setting forth a sweeping reform agenda for the State Department and USAID, the lead agencies for foreign relations and development respectively. The QDDR follows in the footsteps of the quadrennial reviews by the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security in taking a comprehensive look at how we can spend our resources most efficiently, how we can achieve our priorities most effectively, what we should be doing differently, and how we should prepare ourselves for the world ahead. The starting premise of the QDDR is that to achieve this vision, and the savings and performance it can yield, we must recognize that civilian power in the world is not limited to State and USAID alone. This is an affirmative American agenda-a global agenda-that is uncompromising in its defense of our security but equally committed to advancing our prosperity and standing up for our values. Empowering the people who carry out this work to deliver results for the American people is the ultimate goal of this report. Hundreds of experts from across State and USAID participated in QDDR working groups, and many more from inside and outside government offered suggestions. This report reflects their experience, as well as the strategic vision of the Secretary and the senior leadership of both agencies.