The Foreign Service Journal is highlighting a timely perspective on the future of U.S. diplomacy with an article by Maren Brooks, former Senior Advisor to the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources at the U.S. Department of State and most recently Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Irregular Warfare and Counterterrorism at the U.S. Department of Defense.
In her piece, “The Challenges of Reorganizing the State Department,” Brooks draws on her experience co-chairing the State’s Modernization Executive Steering Committee to reflect on past reform efforts and what lessons might apply as Secretary Rubio advances his reorganization plans.
Brooks outlines both achievements and roadblocks in the department’s last modernization push, including the creation of new bureaus for cyberspace and health security, new professional mobility and retention programs, and long-overdue technology upgrades. At the same time, she points to deeper challenges that continue to confront the department: resistance to change, a culture of risk aversion, a difficult relationship with Congress, and the impact of politics on continuity of reform.
With her background spanning more than a decade at State and a senior counterterrorism role at the Pentagon, Brooks’ contribution provides a rare dual lens from inside both the diplomatic and defense communities.
The full article appears in the September-October issue of the Foreign Service Journal, published by the American Foreign Service Association.
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