In the best of all worlds Mr. Putin would resign, and free and fair elections, with nonpartisan monitors, would be held. But even that would not be enough. Russia needs a commission similar to the South African Commission on Truth and Reconciliation to review publicly not only the crimes of the Putin era but also crimes committed during the eight-year rule of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin. Only this can provide a basis for democracy.

Mr. Satter teaches courses in the MA in Government program in the Center for Advanced Governmental Studies and is the author of It Was a Long Time Ago and It Never Happened Anyway: Russia and the Communist Past (Yale University Press, 2011).  Read the full article here.

The questions routinely asked of our presidential candidates are insufficient for assessing their potential ability to lead the nation. The following questions are based on my studies of the leadership style of recent presidents. The candidates' responses to these questions — as well as evidence of how they have already "answered" them in practice — would, I believe, provide more reliable guidance for their leadership potential in the White House.

Read the full article here.

This fall, one of our new faculty, Dr. Steven Mayer, will be offering a course titled "Program Development and Evaluation."  This course will critically examine several different methodologies commly used to measure performance in the nonprofit sector.  For an excellent overview of the philosophy behind the course, check out Dr. Mayer's recent blog entry on justphilanthropy.org.

If the infrastructure surrounding an old person at home were dynamic—if those providing care and services were in constant touch—new synergies would develop between providers in much the same way they did between the employees of Bell Labs.

More here.

The Court is one step in a constitutional dialogue among the states, Congress, and the executive branch.  Separation of powers is the game that never ends.  The Court will most likely announce its decision on the ACA in June--don't expect this to be the end!

The full article can be found here.

This is an opportunity to meet personally with Margaret McGrath, Director of the Commissioner’s Situation Room and Intelligence Watch.  Ms. McGrath will give a brief presentation about the office and the type of work involved and at the end you will have a chance to hand in resumes and ask questions. 

Keep in mind that this is a full-time opportunity within the Commissioner’s Situation Room and Intelligence Watch (CSRIW) and it is a unique work environment because of the combination of the fields of both intelligence and law enforcement.  The office is open 24/7 and employees may have to work occasional night shifts and weekends as necessary for special projects or during emergent events.  U.S. Citizenship is a requirement and the office location is downtown at the Ronald Reagan Building.

We look forward to seeing you there!

GSS Student Merrick Garb introduces Lt. General Darrel Jones

General Jones argued for the need to maintain new officer and enlisted recruiting, even at the expense of ending the careers of some currently serving personnel.  He said this would ensure that the Air Force has a consistent cadre of leaders rising through the ranks and able to lead the service in the future. 

Speaking only for himself and not for the Air Force, he also questioned the sustainability of the current pension model for the armed services and wondered whether an airman who spends several years in the service gets sufficiently rewarded during his or her service; and whether extensive and costly post-service benefits are needed.   

The General chatted with faculty (Ariel Roth,above) and students (Mike Golden and Lathan Turner, below) before his talkThe General answered several student questions, including one about the impact of the end of the controversial policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."  The general called this a "non-event,"saying that there were no problems that accompanied the end of the policy.

We wish to thank GSS student, Merrick Garb, who facilitated General Jones' visit.  

At CNA, we heard presentations from the chief operating officer, a research team leader and a research specialist.  This was a good way to understand the organization from the perspectives of people working at different levels and with different job functions.  

We also had opportunities to ask questions, and a received a great set of career advice.  For example, Dr. Willner, a Research Team Leader from the China Studies group, encouraged students to try their best to publish an article in a journal as a way of both establishing subject-matter expertise and writing ability.

All three speakers gave us specific information and interesting insights into the operation of the organization, its career tracks and its values—which was very useful for potential job applicants.

At OSD Policy, we were treated to a 45 minute talk and question-answer session with Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy, Dan Chiu.  Mr. Chiu covered a wide-ranging set of topics, from the set-up of OSD Policy and its core work, to details about the process of putting out the Quadrennial Defense Review.

We also met four other members of various groups at OSD Policy who spoke to us about their jobs, career paths and offered useful advice for getting your foot in the door in the defense sector.

Finally, we owe a HUGE thank you to Mike Golden (OSD) and Yolanda Peterson Jones (CNA)—both current GSS students who took the time to speak to us about their work. 

If you have ideas about future destinations for employer tours, or more importantly, access to other employers that would be interesting to Government, GSS or Public Management students… please let us know!