Clinical Professor Anne Marie Goetz Interviewed by PRI’s Marco Werman

On December 7, 2018, NYUSPS Center for Global Affairs Clinical Professor Anne Marie Goetz participated in an interview with PRI’s The World host, Marco Werman, on the nomination of Heather Nauert as the new American ambassador to the UN. Nauert worked at Fox News from 1998 to 2005, first as a contributor and later as a correspondent. In April 2017, she became the spokesperson for the US State Department. But is she really qualified to serve as one of America’s top diplomats?

Goetz shared her views on the position and the importance of foreign policy experience in this role. She pointed out that Nauert’s experience internationally and in government is extremely thin. “The role of a UN Security Council ambassador is not about communications and spin,” she noted. “It is about extremely canny, tough negotiations to resolve some seriously intractable crises around the world.”

On Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s request to downgrade the UN ambassador’s position to outside of the president’s cabinet, Goetz indicated that this was a troubling sign. Choosing someone who does not have the right qualifications for the job and then downgrading the post send a signal of the insignificance of multilateralism for this administration.