Lateral Entry into the Foreign Service: Opportunity Lost

Abstract

Lateral entry was a point of major reform controversy in meeting the personnel management needs of postwar American diplomacy until the mid-1970s. From that time forward, the concept, when used at all in the Department of State, has been primarily associated with the Mid-Level Hiring Program for Women and Minority Group Members. Departmental statistics, except for the affirmative action program, do not reflect significant lateral entrance subsequent to 1976, when there was only one such entry. The abandonment of lateral entry as a method of obtaining the specialized expertise needed to cope with the complexities of American foreign policy may act to the continued detriment not only of the State Department but also of foreign policy itself. The dilemma of strengthening the State Department and the Foreign Service in its foreign policy role through the adoption of a creative personnel system remains unresolved. This article describes the several attempts at lateral entry since the 1950s. The authors contend that the technique was never fully accepted as a reform measure by the Foreign Service officer corps.