KATHLEEN NOWELL
The few times I have been privileged to work with students who have interned (formally or informally) with the South Jetty, I have come away knowing I got the better end of the deal.
Students excite me, make me dust off the lessons learned at “J School” and sharpen my skills.
Kathleen Nowell is grown up now, with a bachelor’s degree in international studies focused on politics and diplomacy from Texas A&M University. She is a masters student in international affairs, specializing in national security and diplomacy, at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at TAMU. She studied in Cannes, France, and spent the past year studying and working in Dalian, China. Her work experience related to this topic includes an internship on Chet Edward’s campaign for the U.S. Senate, and she recently received a tentative offer of an internship with the State Department in Athens, Greece.
Some credit should go to her parents, Danny and Roxanne Nowell of Giddings.
I’m sharing her work with our readers, as I share in the pride her family has for the young woman she has become.
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“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” is Sun Tzu’s famous quote. Presidentelect Barack Obama shares little in common with the centuries-old Chinese general and military strategist. But, could this be the guiding principle behind Obama’s selection of Hillary Clinton for secretary of state? Analysts have touted her warm international reception and the need to unify Hillary supporters behind Obama. However, her appointment could cause a major backlash by heightening divisions between the State Department and other federal agencies. According to the U.S. State Department Web site, “The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department and the Foreign Service of the United States…and serves as the President’s principal adviser on U.S. foreign policy.” It is important that the person filling this role is perceived as accurately representing the President’s, not his or her own, policies and opinions. Clinton strongly voiced the differences in her policy ideas from Obama’s throughout her presidential campaign. As she transitions to a new job, will she truly be able to put aside politics, and her own ideals, to promote Obama’s foreign policies abroad?
Even the most idealistic observers understand that bureaucratic politics plays a major role in decision-making at the White House. We, the public, hear carefully worded speeches as troop levels are determined and see posed handshakes and smiles as bailouts are passed. We are not privy to the power plays and maneuvering that occur when cameras are not present. But, through the fog machines of spin masters, we occasionally catch glimpses of the underpinnings of this thing called “bureaucratic politics.”
Graham Allison and Phillip Zelikow published a classic work examining the forces of decision-making. “Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis” presents three models, the most interesting of which is the governmental politics model. Governmental politics is essentially bureaucratic politics. The central idea is that “where you sit is where you stand.” All agencies push for their own priorities-budget allocations, involvement in priority projects, and expanded powers. Any policy created, then, is a result of massive bargaining between agencies.
Appointing Hillary Clinton could be the perfect real-life experiment of bureaucratic politics. She has massive influence, personal appeal and a commanding presence. These qualities combined with a reputation for being well-received abroad for her past works in the humanities and as a “back-door diplomat” could quickly rally State Department officials behind her. But, as she gains influence within the State Department, will diplomats and ambassadors be relaying the President’s foreign policies…or will there be a more Clintonesque tone to their words?
If other agencies perceive Clinton and the State Department to be advancing an agenda that contradicts that of Obama, there will be a massive push-back against Clinton-led initiatives. According to the bureaucratic politics theory there is, innately, a major division between bureaus even without the influence of election politics. We may now see an alignment amongst the agencies against the State Department as some begin to feel that support for the Secretary of State is not support for the President.
To repair the U.S. image abroad, a united voice must emanate from D.C., and all U.S. citizens, discarding lingering emotions from campaigns of 2008. Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, would do well to recall another quote of Sun Tzu: “The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.”
–Kathleen Nowell
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