BY TREMAYNE GIBSON

“What is missing from the discussion of American foreign policy today is an understanding of statecraft,” says Dennis Ross in Statecraft: And How to Restore America’s Standing in the World. A former Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff during the George H. W. Bush administration and special Middle East envoy under President Bill Clinton, Ross is uniquely endowed with the knowledge and perspective on world affairs necessary to write a book like this—a handbook for diplomats.

Deriving inspiration from the poor handling of the “art” of statecraft by the current administration, Ross enlightens the reader on the subtleties of his former profession. Statecraft is not an especially original work of analysis. But in illustrating the importance of negotiation and mediation to diplomacy, Ross sheds light on issues of statecraft that, though not all new, are too often ignored.

A Vivid Communicator
Ross conveys his points through storytelling, and he tells each story with colorful detail. A fitting example appears in his discussion about anger as a mediation tactic: Ross recalls an instance in which he convinced an intransigent Yasir Arafat to cooperate after tossing a binder across a room and shattering a pitcher of juice. Each of Ross’ other rules for effective negotiation and mediation is demonstrated through similarly fascinating examples.

Ross’ lessons to the conduct of diplomacy may strike the reader as obvious. But his illustrations highlight the importance, for the diplomat, of combining hard work with an astute judgment—staying attuned to the finer details of a situation that can make a great difference. Too often in the current administration, diplomacy has been reduced to getting off a plane and waving.

An Echo of Books Past
While Ross’ story benefits from his firsthand involvement in many of the episodes he describes, the book echoes many other books in the foreign affairs genre. The central premise, an attempt to provide an overview of the key features of diplomacy, is reminiscent of Alexander George and Gordon Craig’s Force and Statecraft: Diplomatic Challenges of Our Time. Both books extract important lessons on the conduct of statecraft from historical events and stress the importance of tools such as negotiation, credibility and crisis management. However, while Craig and George’s book emphasizes traditional European balance-of-power politics, Ross’s book centers around more recent global developments, such as German entry into NATO, along with current pressing issues such as Iran’s suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Ross’ concise yet informative narrative of post-Cold War American diplomacy is accessible to a broad readership. His case studies reveal the key theme at the heart of the book: the indispensable nature of international diplomacy to restoring American credibility in the world in the years ahead. We may live in a new world, but diplomacy is no less vital today than it has been in the past.

Mapping the Future
Ross concludes his book by suggesting a course of action to resolve current conflicts, such as Iran’s nuclear program and a rising China. His advice makes sense and is acceptable largely because most of it is not new and, in some instances, has been implemented already. For instance, he suggests placing tough sanctions on Iran backed by the support of the world community to send a clear message to Iranian leaders to halt their program. While this suggestion is not too different from that currently being pursued by the United States and Europe, his suggestion on how to accomplish it is unique: making use of the potential for military intervention by the United States or Israel against Iranian nuclear sites as leverage for convincing crucial Security Council members like Russia and China to get tough on Iran.

But Ross does not write to win acceptance for a specific raft of policy suggestions. For him, an America that begins to make use of effective diplomacy governed by reason, deliberation and consultation rather than one that makes rash decisions based on ideology is far more important. Only when our leaders rediscover the “lost art” of statecraft will America be able to “redeem…our place in the world.” While not a comprehensive roadmap to restoring American standing in the world, Ross’ book is a good starting point for the debate we will need to realize this goal. ]]>