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 is pleased to release the Spring 2021 Marcellus Policy Analyses which can be found below:
John Ramming Chappell
John Ramming Chappell is a joint J.D. and M.S. in Foreign Service candidate at Georgetown University. John’s analysis focuses on the failure of the current U.S. strategy in the Sahel region in Africa. John recommends the U.S. drop the failed Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership and replace it with the Global Fragility Strategy framework which would better address the root causes of regional insecurity. Read John’s analysis here.
Nick Cleveland-Stout
Nick Cleveland-Stout is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and is the Chair of the John Quincy Adams Society at Colorado College. Nick’s analysis develops the argument for a “Green BRAC” (Base Closure and Realignment). Nick examines the case for an environmentally-oriented BRAC as a possible route to better prioritize both national security and human security, further democratize foreign policy, and better position the U.S. to be a leader on climate. Read Nick’s analysis here.
Nani Detti
Nani Detti is an incoming Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy candidate at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a former intern for the Africa Program at the Center for International Policy. Nani’s analysis explores the effectiveness of the current over-militarized U.S. counterterrorism effort in the Sahel and West Africa. Nani also draws attention to how climate change, economic inequality, and weak governance factor into the rise of extremist groups on the continent. As the number of terrorist groups and attacks increases, Nani curates what a better and effective counterterrorism effort looks like and how local African governments can work with their foreign allies to provide a long-term solution for this security threat. Read Nani’s analysis here.
Grant Golub
Grant Golub is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of International History at The London School of Economics and Political Science. Grant’s analysis focuses on analyzing failed reform efforts of the National Security Council (NSC). Analysis of failed reform should guide policymakers to what successful reform of the NSC should look like. Grant has several recommendations to curb the NSC’s excess authority and return the NSC to its modest roots as an interagency coordinator of U.S. foreign policy. Read Grant’s analysis here.
Yameen Huq
Yameen Huq is currently finishing his graduate program at the Georgia Institute of Technology with an M.S. in Cybersecurity in the Policy track. Yameen’s analysis focuses on a reorganization of the U.S. Department of State. The design architecture and staffing of an organization have a direct impact on its strategic vision. Therefore, pursuing a grand strategy of restraint requires rethinking how the State Department operates in terms of personnel, processes, and technology. Yameen proposes several recommendations on how the State Department can be reformed to fit a foreign policy that prioritizes military restraint and a domestic-oriented agenda. Read Yameen’s analysis here.
Ethan Kessler
Ethan Kessler is an incoming Research Associate in the Lester Crown Center on U.S. Foreign Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Originally from California, he is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a major in political science and a minor in history. Ethan’s analysis reexamines the U.S.’s approach to its longtime security alliance with South Korea. Ethan recommends the U.S. withdraw troops from South Korea and end its goal of denuclearizing North Korea. Read Ethan’s analysis here.
Scott McCann
Scott McCann is a finalist for the Charles Koch Institute’s Koch Associate Program and a graduate of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Scott’s analysis focus on the U.S. policy towards Iran. He discusses reconciliation with Iran through the lens of U.S. national security interests. Scott illustrates the flaws of current policy towards Iran and reveals opportunities for cooperation. Read Scott’s analysis here.
Margarita Valkovskaya
Margarita “Rita” Valkovskaya is a graduate of Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University. Rita’s analysis focuses on the economic and technological aspect of the U.S.’s strategy towards China. Rita devises several sharp recommendations for policymakers to help the U.S. deploy a balanced and responsible policy framework in the coming years. Read Rita’s analysis here.
Ismaila Whittier
Ismaila “Izzy” Whittier is a first-year Master in Public Policy (MPP) student, at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, concentrating in International and Global Affairs. Izzy’s analysis focuses on the U.S.-China competition which has suddenly become the dominant foreign policy issue in Washington. Izzy finds progressive solutions grounded in military restraint, diplomacy, and multilateralism to help the U.S. manage this burgeoning challenge. Read Izzy’s analysis here.