After a highly competitive selection process, the John Quincy Adams Society is pleased to announce its Spring 2023 cohort of Marcellus Policy Fellows. This is the Society’s sixth cohort of fellows. The Fellows will spend the next ten weeks learning from top experts on foreign policy as they develop a think tank style policy analysis on a pressing issue facing U.S. strategy. They will also be trained to produce supporting materials to make their work more likely to have impact, culminating in production of an op-ed and a one-page policy memorandum. Past fellows have gone on to work at a number of prominent institutions.

Peter Burns is a graduate student of international relations at Troy University with a specialization in European affairs. He’s a graduate of the College of Charleston and Arizona State University where he studied business and political science.  Peter’s paper proposes a more restrained posture for American special operations in U.S. Africa policy. Read Peter’s paper here.

Robert Clarke is the Director of Marketing for Foreign Policy at Stand Together, a philanthropic community engaged in education and advocacy around a number of issues – his role focuses on promoting restraint in U.S. foreign policy. He previously worked as an independent consultant working with institutions like the Reason Foundation, media personalities like John Stossel, and various political candidates. Robert’s paper focuses on allied “reckless driving” by the Baltic states in their relations with Russia and proposes policies to reduce European dependence on U.S. military power. Read Robert’s paper here.

Griffin Grubb is a second-year International Affairs M.A. Candidate at American University in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Washington State University with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Ethics. Griffin credits his decision to pursue an M.A. in United States Foreign Policy and National Security with a focus in East Asia to his prior experience as an Intern at the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University located in Pullman, WA. He is currently an Intern at the Alliance for Citizen Engagement (ACE) where he is researching technology policy to educate youth voters through nonpartisan engagement.  Griffin’s policy analysis focuses on how to create a U.S.-China trade relationship that benefits workers and promotes rather than undermines security interests in East Asia. Read Griffin’s paper here.

Benedicta (Benie) Kwarteng is a 2023 Rangel Fellow and graduate student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She is interested in the nexus between International Development and Security. Her research interests include the informal economy, US-China-Taiwan relations, and US foreign policy. Her hobbies include listening to podcasts, napping, and Formula One. Benie’s policy analysis examines the role of semiconductors in international security. Read Benie’s paper here.

Martin Makaryan is a recent graduate of UCLA holding a B.A. in Political Science and Global Studies and an incoming graduate student at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, class of 2025. Previously, he has interned for different government offices and non-profits, including Los Angeles Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, and he has written for different student journals and outlets on foreign policy, geopolitics, and international security. Specifically, his expertise and interests include U.S. foreign policy and grand strategy, NATO and European security, Russia and the post-Soviet space, Armenian issues and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Fluent in four languages, he intends to pursue careers in foreign policy and international affairs. In the past several years, Turkey has undergone serious domestic transformation and adopted an increasingly assertive, expansionist, and ambitious foreign policy agenda as President Recep Tayip Erdogan’s grip on power and personal drive has shaped Turkey’s course on the world stage. His research highlights how Turkey’s Erdogan has shaped and changed the Turkish foreign policy, as well as how this change of course affects U.S. interests and policy. Read Martin’s paper here.  

Justin Mitchell is a graduate student in the International Relations program studying at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in New York. Justin had the pleasure of serving as the treasurer, vice-president, and president of the JQAS chapter at Syracuse University as an undergraduate, where he graduated in May 2022 with a B.A. in History, International Relations, and Russian Language, Literature, and Culture. As one of his three senior theses, Justin wrote a distinction thesis on Russian nuclear missile treaty compliance and the New START Treaty. His policy analysis for the Marcellus Policy Fellowship will examine internal political factions in the Russian Federation and their implications for Russia’s foreign policy strategy regarding the West and the United States. Read Justin’s paper here. 

Dylan Motin is a Ph.D. candidate majoring in political science at Kangwon National University and a former visiting research fellow at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies. He was named one of the Next Generation Korea Peninsula Specialists at the National Committee on American Foreign Policy and a Young Leader of the Pacific Forum. His research expertise revolves around international relations theory, and his main interests are balance-of-power theory, great power competition, and Korean affairs. Dylan’s writings have appeared in such publications as The National Interest, Irish Studies in International Affairs, the Korean Journal of International Studies, and the Seoul Journal of Korean Studies. In his paper, Dylan argues that the United States should replace its confrontational North Korea policy aimed at completely denuclearizing North Korea via sanctions with one geared towards arms control and normalized relations. Read Dylan’s paper here.

Noah Schwartz is a New Hampshire native and a graduate of George Mason University. He has been a contributing writer for Realist Review since September 2021. Currently, he lives in Richmond, Va., with his partner. He is passionate about promoting restraint in U.S. foreign policy and the Boston Celtics. Noah’s policy paper will explore the political economy of the Russian war on Ukraine and project what a rebuild of the country will look like. Incorporating the history of failed U.S. reconstruction projects, he offers policy suggestions on the best way to build a strong, independent, and secure post-war Ukraine. Read Noah’s paper here.