The State Department and the Trump Administration

 The American Conservative published on 22 July 2026 a commentary titled "The Fight Inside Trump's State Department Is About Power--Not Expertise" by Phillip Linderman.

The author argues that the Trump administration is trying to salvage the US Foreign Service from the "globalist and woke values" that dominate professional diplomatic services.  But the "old guard" in the State Department is stymieing this effort in the belief that the situation in the Department will return to normal after Trump leaves office.

For decades, the State Department's machinery has reflexively favored the globalist or internationalist Foreign Service officer over the American First officer.  Now an administration is trying to rebalance the institution.   

The old guard understands that accepting Trump's approach would mean surrendering much of its power to shape foreign policy.  That is why its members defended "the corrupt and dysfunctional USAID."  He concludes: "This is a fight about Washington power, not diplomatic expertise."

Comment:  There is a grain of truth to the author's core argument.  Foreign Service officers tend to be globalist and internationalist in their approach to foreign affairs.  That has also been the approach of all post-World War II administrations with the exception of the first Trump administration.  Foreign Service officers, especially at the senior level, also want to have an impact on the foreign policy decision making process and not meekly parrot every decision that comes from on high.  

This is where his analysis falls apart.  There is a role for offering a slightly different approach or even a contrary point of view backed up by sound knowledge and analysis.  If it is not accepted, then obviously the decision from "on high" must be accepted.  In the vast majority of cases in my experience, this has been the response from the Foreign Service.  If significant differences remained, the Foreign Service officer was moved to a different position or resigned.  

A Foreign Service officer has every right to disagree, for example, with the author's definition of USAID as "corrupt and dysfunctional" because he is flat-out wrong and the administration erred in dismantling the organization.  But the Trump administration made the decision to shut USAID down, and it is up to the Foreign Service to implement the new policy on foreign assistance.  I suspect the overwhelming majority of Foreign Service officers today are doing just that.

The author argues that the "public record" suggests senior Foreign Service officers' reluctance to implement the president's decisions fully and faithfully is widespread.  The "public record" he cites is a flawed analysis titled "Why Does Trump Hate the State Department" published by The American Conservative on July 20 and reposted below on July 21.  

US State Department: How Not to Manage a Bureaucracy

 The New York Times published on 2 December 2025 an article titled "U.S. Diplomats Report Broken Morale and Abandoned Careers" by Michael Crowley.

A recent American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) survey of 2,100 State Department diplomats reported that 98 percent believe workplace morale has fallen since the Trump administration took power in January.  Only 1 percent reported an improvement in the situation in the State Department.  

CNN covered the same report on 3 December 2025 in an article titled "Trump Administration Changes Have Left US Diplomats Demoralized and Less Able to Do Their Jobs, Report Says" by Jennifer Hansler.

CNN quotes the president of AFSA as saying: "The Foreign Service--the very institution tasked with navigating our global interests--is being dismantled in real time."  Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised State Department personnel when he first arrived.  There is now a belief he has turned his back on them.  

Marco Rubio's State Department Reorganization Plan

 The Foreign Policy Expertise blog posted on 29 April 2025 a commentary titled "How to Make Rubio's State Department Reform a Success" by Dan Spokojny.

The author argues that to the extent the Rubio reorganization of the State Department focuses on moving some authority from functional bureaus to regional bureaus, it has merit. There has always been some unnecessary tension and overlap between the functional and regional bureaus. 

Comment:  If done properly, Rubio's reorganization plan could improve operations in the State Department.  That remains to be seen.  The bigger issue is ensuring an adequate budget and staffing.  Moving all the bureaucratic boxes in the State Department will improve nothing if there is an insufficient budget and personnel to carry out the Department's mission.   

The New China International Development Cooperation Agency

The Center for Advanced China Research, a non-profit research organization, published on 29 January 2019 an analysis titled "Too Much Risk or Not Enough? New Development Finance Agencies in China and the United States" by Scott Wingo, University of Pennsylvania.

In April 2018, China established its new China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) in an effort to provide better coordination of its global foreign assistance program. This analysis sheds some light on how CIDCA might operate in the years ahead.

China: Assembling Cars in Cameroon Is a Challenge

Quartz Africa published on 31 October 2017 an article titled "For a Chinese Company Building Central Africa's First Auto Plant It's Been a Bumpy Road" by Mbom Sixtus.

A Chinese company is in the process of establishing Central Africa's first car assembly plant in the industrial zone near the Chinese-built deep water port of Kribi. Eventually the goal is to manufacture the cars in Cameroon. In the meantime, the company has encountered bureaucratic delays and there have been allegations of corruption on behalf of Cameroonian officials.

Benin-China Diplomatic Interaction

The London School of Economics Global South Unit published in 2016 a paper titled "Passive Agents? Bureaucratic Agency in Africa-China Negotiations: A Case Study of Benin" by Folashade Soule-Kohndou, a lecturer at Sciences Po Paris.

The paper discusses the bureaucratic and diplomatic interaction between Benin and China in connection with the building of infrastructure projects.

US and China Approach to Africa

The China Quarterly of International Strategic Studies published in the spring of 2016 an article titled "Extended Ground for U.S.-China Competition? Comparing China's and the U.S.' Engagement in Africa" by David Shinn. It compares the interests, policy, tactics, and institutions of the two countries in Africa, suggests where each country has done especially well, and concludes with areas where China and the US compete and cooperate in Africa. Only an abstract of the article is available online.