One night last November, Max Currier '09 (Manlius, N.Y.) was thinking about his summer plans. It occurred to him at 3 a.m. that maybe he could get funding for his hobby of researching the current government and political situation; "regardless of what I did, I was going to be reading up on the war anyway," he thought.
Later that year, he was awarded an Emerson Grant to research the Bush administration's actions regarding the War on Terror. Through extensive reading and analysis, Currier hopes to address the behavior of the Bush administration through the lens of Bush's key ministers. He is working with Ned Walker '62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory.
Asked to sum up his project, Currier did so with a question. "Is the Bush administration's foreign policy group a team of civil servants successful at spreading freedom abroad and protecting the freedom of American at home as they claim or is the Bush foreign policy team, ironically, exactly the opposite?"
Although it is a little early in the summer for conclusions, Currier said that he is beginning to see trends. He explained, for instance, his theory that terrorism as a tactic of radical Muslims against the United States seems to be a problem (and result) of American's military presence in the Islamic world.
Currier leans toward the idea that the cabinet and foreign policy team, "extremely skilled, extremely dedicated, and extremely fascinating" (and, in several cases, extremely conservative) have been the major players in government actions. Bush, Currier argues, has failed to "balance and manage the powerful personalities of his cabinet." He adds that the emergency situation of September 11 changed the way policies were developed and implemented, which has had a significant effect on how our government has functioned in the past six years.
A first time summer researcher, Currier has experience with historical and political document analysis, but not on this scale. "There is no 'Bush File' dossier," he joked, and he faces more research than analysis this summer.
"Without question the hardest part is doing all the reading," Currier added. Working with a reading list which begins with the work of journalist Bob Woodward, includes political memoirs of figures such as Richard Clarke and George Tenet, and encompasses literally tens of thousands of pages of books, transcripts, and records, it is easy to understand why he comments that "it's overwhelming."
Currier, however, remains optimistic about his hobby and looks forward to producing a substantial and comprehensive report assessing the Bush administration's War on Terror by the end of the summer.
During the year Currier, an RA and musician, writes for The Spectator and plays on the varsity basketball team.
His research this summer is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant Program, which allows students to work closely with a faculty member researching in depth an area of the student's interest.
- Lisbeth Redfield
Later that year, he was awarded an Emerson Grant to research the Bush administration's actions regarding the War on Terror. Through extensive reading and analysis, Currier hopes to address the behavior of the Bush administration through the lens of Bush's key ministers. He is working with Ned Walker '62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory.
Asked to sum up his project, Currier did so with a question. "Is the Bush administration's foreign policy group a team of civil servants successful at spreading freedom abroad and protecting the freedom of American at home as they claim or is the Bush foreign policy team, ironically, exactly the opposite?"
Although it is a little early in the summer for conclusions, Currier said that he is beginning to see trends. He explained, for instance, his theory that terrorism as a tactic of radical Muslims against the United States seems to be a problem (and result) of American's military presence in the Islamic world.
Currier leans toward the idea that the cabinet and foreign policy team, "extremely skilled, extremely dedicated, and extremely fascinating" (and, in several cases, extremely conservative) have been the major players in government actions. Bush, Currier argues, has failed to "balance and manage the powerful personalities of his cabinet." He adds that the emergency situation of September 11 changed the way policies were developed and implemented, which has had a significant effect on how our government has functioned in the past six years.
A first time summer researcher, Currier has experience with historical and political document analysis, but not on this scale. "There is no 'Bush File' dossier," he joked, and he faces more research than analysis this summer.
"Without question the hardest part is doing all the reading," Currier added. Working with a reading list which begins with the work of journalist Bob Woodward, includes political memoirs of figures such as Richard Clarke and George Tenet, and encompasses literally tens of thousands of pages of books, transcripts, and records, it is easy to understand why he comments that "it's overwhelming."
Currier, however, remains optimistic about his hobby and looks forward to producing a substantial and comprehensive report assessing the Bush administration's War on Terror by the end of the summer.
During the year Currier, an RA and musician, writes for The Spectator and plays on the varsity basketball team.
His research this summer is funded by the Emerson Foundation Grant Program, which allows students to work closely with a faculty member researching in depth an area of the student's interest.
- Lisbeth Redfield
