Australia's Lowy Institute has released its "2024 Global Diplomacy Index."
China pulled ahead of the United States in global diplomatic missions in 2019 and maintained a small lead through 2023. Russia's war in Ukraine has resulted in a significant reduction in Moscow's diplomatic representation. Türkiye and India have significantly expanded their representation in recent years. There has been a recent focus on the establishment of diplomatic missions in Pacific Islands countries.
POLITICO published on 27 February 2025 an article titled "Trump Wants to Shrink the State Department's Size, Reach and Focus" by Nahal Toosi.
Drawing on information from a person familiar with internal State Department discussions and a former U.S. official with ties to the Trump team, POLITICO reports that the Trump administration, fueled by Elon Musk and his DOGE mercenaries, wants to radically shrink the State Department--leaving it with fewer diplomats, s smaller number of embassies and a narrower remit.
While it is not clear how many embassies would be closed, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly is on board with cutting a significant number.
Comment: From my desk on Capitol Hill, I think I hear the cheering in government, military, and intelligence offices in Beijing, Moscow, and Pyongyang.
The National Interest published on 11 November 2020 an article titled "Seven Consulates a Biden State Department Could Open to Jumpstart Diplomacy" by Michael Rubin, American Enterprise Institute.
A staff member at the conservative American Enterprise Institute proposed that the incoming Biden administration establish seven new American consulates, including one in Hargeisa, Somaliland. The author argues as China increases its influence in neighboring Djibouti and in Somalia, it is time for the United States to step up its game in Somaliland.
