Publications
fp21 is building a new culture of foreign policy that uses evidence and robust analysis in decision-making processes, learns from its successes and failures, and continually feeds lessons back into the way it recruits, trains, and promotes a merit-based staff. Explore our publications below.
Learning From History: A Database of Prior Reform Proposals at State
Toby Weed: fp21 created this database of State Department reform recommendations as a resource for those working to reform US foreign policy process. Too many would-be reformers proceed without reviewing the large body of work on State Department reform that has accumulated from prior attempts. Any reforms need to be carefully researched and based on the best available evidence.
Does UNGA Matter? Examining the Research for Face-to-Face Diplomacy
Sanjana Patel: Is face-to-face diplomacy merely a symbolic practice, or does it hold unique value to meaningful shape international affairs? This article surveys evidence on the value of face-to-face diplomacy across a range of disciplines.
Unlocking Foreign Policy Reform Recommendations
Thomas Scherer, Toby Weed, & Marisa Jurczyk: There is an abundance of reports with recommendations for how to improve U.S. foreign policy. These recommendations help us understand how foreign policy has evolved and where it can go, but that information is hard to distill. We unlock this knowledge using computational social science techniques, with promising results.