Hello, all! I would like your help with a research project I have designed. I am a graduate student at the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy, and Cal State Monterey Bay. Leon Panetta wants to draw on the research of his grad students, creating sort of a "Little Think Tank" within the Institute that will articulate an "Agenda for the Future." Within this overarching theme, I have chosen the topic of:
Providing the Security Necessary for Freedom in the World (Foreign Policy)
More information and my proposed research plan is below the fold. I would ask that you please recommend this diary. The success of this project relies on my getting a good response rate from people.
The finished research will be archived within the Panetta Institute and will be used as Panetta deems appropriate. He is still quite active and influential in the Democratic Party. He makes the rounds on the talk shows, and he was regularly in touch with the Kerry campaign, serving as a sort of informal advisor. In short, there is the possibility that this work could eventually be disseminated to Democratic policy-makers and leaders, and may help inform their discussion about these issues. That is my goal, anyway. The key to the quality of this work will be your active participation.
RESEARCH PLAN
The goals of this project are to:
- Articulate a set of progressive core values that should be used to guide policy-making.
- Define a coherent frame based on those core values in order to effectively define and talk about issues of national security/foreign policy.
- Develop policy positions that are based on those core values.
- Devise a communication plan for talking about those policy positions within the identified frame.
I will be posting a series of research questions every week. Each question is designed to build upon the results of the last question. I hope to post questions on Mondays and Wednesdays, with the aggregated results posting on Wednesdays and Fridays. This may be too ambitious, so please bear with me as I work out the logistics. I expect to complete this data collection by mid-April, and the written report will be finalized mid-May. I will figure out a way to give people access to that final report if they would like to see it.
OK - ready? Then let's begin...
Question 1: What do you think are the 3 - 5 most vital national security/foreign policy issues that the U.S. faces? Be as specific as possible.
I would encourage you to consider the most pressing, immediate issues (nuclear nonproliferation, for example) as well as emerging issues that we will likely need to address in the coming decades.
Have at it, folks. I look forward to working with all of you on this!
PLEASE NOTE: By commenting to this diary, you agree to be a participant in this research. Final results of this research will be reported in the aggregate. If an individual is singled out to be quoted, I will contact that person for permission before doing so. Participation is, of course, strictly voluntary and may be discontinued at any time. If you have any questions regarding this research, please feel free to contact me via email.