Bureaucratic Representativeness and Foreign Policy Legitimacy

• In Event: Bureaucracy in International Relations I: Bureaucratic Representation

Abstract

We examine foreign policy implications of the lack of bureaucratic representativeness by studying the nature and pattern of bureaucratic representativeness (or lack thereof) among U.S. ambassadors—key agents in the implementation of U.S. foreign policy—as well as systemic racism/discrimination many of them experience, such as being limited to the “Black Circuit” in their country assignments. We also explore the effect of ambassadors’ ascriptive attributes—such as their race, ethnicity, gender, and educational background—on the perceived legitimacy of the U.S. government and its foreign policy abroad.

Author

• Clara H. Suong, Virginia Tech