Our Fall 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellows

The Marcellus Policy Fellowship is the John Quincy Adams Society’s most selective program, providing promising foreign policy minds an early-career opportunity to produce independent, impact-minded research under expert guidance. Fellows learn about US foreign policy from top scholars and path-breaking thinkers, refining their own ideas into a high-quality policy paper and supporting materials. The Society […]

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Economic Statecraft and U.S.-China Strategy (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Margarita Valkovskaya, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow In the last ten years, a hawkish view on China among U.S. foreign policymakers has replaced the counter-terrorism national security paradigm, with a renewed focus on great power competition in the emerging and critical technology space. A prior view positioned China as a developing economy whose inclusion […]

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Charting a Progressive China Policy for the 21st Century (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Ismaila Whittier, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow The United States is facing a geopolitical dilemma that will force overdue reevaluations of its grand strategy regarding U.S.-China relations. Initial ideas of reforming China and molding the country into a cooperative member of a global framework of liberal democracies have failed and miserably so. As tensions […]

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Rethinking Iran: Restraint Through Reconciliation (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Scott McCann, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow In 1980, President Jimmy Carter stated the flow of Persian Gulf oil was a vital U.S. interest and that Washington would use “any means necessary, including military force” to protect it. The statement became known as the Carter Doctrine. The U.S. has been engaged in the region […]

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Reductions for Peace: Realigning U.S. Policy in South Korea (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Ethan Kessler, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow The United States currently stations over 28,000 troops in South Korea (ROK) to help guard it against attacks from North Korea (DPRK). These troops are a legacy of a different time. The ROK has become wealthier and more powerful since 1953 when it came under the protection […]

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Home is Where the Heart Is: A State Department Focused on the Domestic Agenda (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Yameen Huq, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow The coming international order is one of multipolarity and rising collective challenges. American voters and elected officials alike realize that the next foreign policy agenda must center domestic matters, prudent prioritization, and careful diplomacy. The State Department (State) can only support this agenda with proper organizational design. […]

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Revisiting NSC Reform: Lessons Learned from Previous Failures (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Grant Golub, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow The current structures of U.S. national security policymaking have allowed the National Security Council (NSC) to dominate American foreign policy. An organization originally designed to coordinate and integrate foreign and defense policy has quietly grown into the most powerful component of the U.S. national security apparatus. The […]

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U.S. Strategy in the Sahel: Toward a Human Security-Centered Approach (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Nani Detti, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow The United States’s current counterterrorism strategy in the Sahel is ineffective and is contributing to the destabilization of the region. Despite pouring billions of dollars into security assistance and counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, the U.S. has failed to help Sahel governments address the growing security threats […]

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The Case for a “Green BRAC” (Marcellus Policy Analysis)

By Nick Cleveland-Stout, Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Fellow There are several reasons to support another round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). BRAC increases savings. Though there are overhead costs, the previous 5 rounds of BRAC combined save around $13 billion annually. BRAC also reduces the excess capacity of the military. The Department of Defense […]

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