Real Localization in US Foreign Policy
Since 1998, more Foreign Service Nationals have been killed in the line of duty than US members of our foreign service.
“Localization” is the latest buzzword in foreign assistance. But in one sense, arguably the most important sense, America has been the decades-long world leader in building local capacity.
Last year, more than 70% of the US Agency for International Development’s overseas workforce, and 85% of the State Department’s, were not US citizens, but rather host country nationals (or to a lesser extent, nationals of a third country). While there are some functions that Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs) and Locally Engaged Staff (as they’re referred to by the State Department) are not authorized to perform—for example, they don’t have access to US classified information—they work side by side with Americans all across the world to advance US interests.
|
