Transformational Leadership And American Foreign Policy: A Preliminary Analysis

Foreign policy is usually over-determined. The “national interest” often appears to be an immutable dictation of the international system and of domestic politics. As Henry Kissinger put it when he was Secretary of State, “the essential outlines of U.S. policy will remain the same no matter who wins the U.S. Presidential election” (Wittkopf, 2003, 524). Yet sometimes, “reality” is more malleable than it first appears. Not so long ago, it seemed “unimaginable” that the Soviet Union would disappear and Germany would be peacefully reunited. As former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft put it in 2003, the main divisions in foreign policy today are not between liberals and conservatives, but between the traditionalists and the transformationalists.1 The transformationalists believe that “we know what has to be done and have the power to do it. What has to be done is to transform the Middle East into a collection of democracies. That will bring peace and stability” (Rothkopf, 2005, 428). Transformational leadership has become a central part of the current debate about American foreign policy

Preface and Chapter Five “Soft power and American foreign policy”, in Soft Power, Public Affairs, New Hampshire, 2004, ps. IX-XIII y 127-147

El presente fragmento de la famosa obra del profesor Nye, nos introduce en el concepto y repercusiones del poder blando. Definido como “la habilidad de obtener lo que quieres a través de la atracción antes que a través de la coerción o de las recompensas”, este concepto tiene una gran relevancia para la política exterior de Estados Unidos. Tras exponer las diferentes corrientes de la política exterior americana y las consecuencias negativas que para la misma tuvo el hecho de malgastar este tipo de poder durante la Guerra de Irak, Nye subraya la necesidad de utilizar conjuntamente tanto del poder duro como del poder blando, con lo que quedará conformado un nuevo concepto de poder, el poder inteligenteThis fragment of Professor´s Nye famous book introduces the concept and the repercussions of the soft power. Defined as “the ability to get what you want through attraction rather than coercion or payments”, it is of great relevance for the foreign policy of the United States. After exposing the different American foreign policy traditions and the negative consequences of the waste of this kind of power during the Iraq War, Nye underlines the need of using hard power as well as soft power, shaping a new concept of power, the Smart Powe

Defining the Role of School Personnel Directors in Urban School Divisions of the Commonwealth of Virginia

The purpose of this study was to identify disparities between perceptions of the public school personnel director\u27s role by both personnel directors and superintendents. The study was limited to personnel directors and superintendents employed by urban school divisions in Virginia. The study sought to identify (1) disparities between perceptions by personnel directors of their ideal role versus their actual role, (2) disparities between perceptions of personnel directors and superintendents of the personnel director\u27s actual role, and (3) disparities between perceptions by public school division superintendents of the personnel directors ideal role versus the actual role. A role analysis questionnaire was developed from current literature describing functions of personnel directors in both public and private sectors. Validity and reliability were tested through a pilot study of urban school divisions in Georgia. The questionnaire was revised and mailed to superintendents and personnel directors of each of the twenty-nine urban school divisions in Virginia. Twenty-two usable returns were received from each group representing a usable return rate of 75.9 percent. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) techniques were utilized to examine the responses. Scheffe post-hoc tests were employed to make mean comparisons when significant F ratios were achieved. The analysis indicated a significant difference between the ideal role conception and actual role experience of personnel directors, as perceived by both personnel directors and superintendents. Both groups perceived that personnel directors\u27 ideal roles held more responsibilities than their actual roles in analyzing jobs and positions, training employees, providing staff development activities, solving problems, establishing quality of life programs, implementing odd-hour scheduling of employees, allowing employees to work at home, and helping administrators. Personnel directors perceived greater responsibilities in their actual roles regarding training, staff developments, job/position analysis, and disciplinary procedures than did superintendents. The findings suggest that standard guidelines for school personnel administrators would alleviate some of the role conflict and role ambiguity experienced by school personnel administrators

Ariel - Volume 3 Number 8

Editors Richard J. Bonanno Robin A. Edwards Associate Editors Steven Ager Tom Williams Lay-out Editor Eugenia Miller Contributing Editors Paul Bialas Robert Breckenridge David Jacoby Mike LeWitt Terry Burt Michael Leo Editors Emeritus Delvyn C. Case, Jr. Paul M. Fernhof

The projection and measurement of cyberpower

Cyberspace and cyberpower are terms that are increasingly used in common parlance, but are notoriously difficult to define and measure. This article builds on previous work defining the properties of cyberspace in terms of vertical layers, which when combined with a representation of distance presents a three-dimensional model. The unique attributes of cyberspace can be harnessed for power projection, the aim of which is ultimately to alter the behaviour of individuals. Although cyberspace has yet to be used as a medium to demonstrate conventional hard power of coercion and threats supported by physical force, it does present a suitable medium for the projection of soft power of attraction and imitation. These are defined within the context of the online environment and by drawing on the techniques used to optimise Web-based commerce, potential methods of implementing and measuring the success of a campaign of cyberpower projection are proposed

Observations of the 8 December 1987 occultation of AG+40 deg 0783 by 324 Bamberga

The occultation of AG+40 deg 0783 by 324 Bamberga on 8 December 1987 was observed at 13 sites in the United States, Japan, and China. At four sites the event was observed photoelectrically; the other observations were visual. A least-squares fit of a circular limb profile to the data gives a diameter of 227.6 + or - 1.9 km. However, this solution is inconsistent with a negative visual observation near the northern edge of the ground track. The inconsistency cannot be removed by assuming an elliptical profile. The data suggest that Bamberga, despite its low-amplitude lightcurve, may depart significantly from a spherical or ellipsoidal shape. The asteroid also appears to be at least 10 percent smaller than indicated by infrared radiometry

Precision Measurement of the 29Si, 33S, and 36Cl Binding Energies

The binding energies of 29Si, 33S, and 36Cl have been measured with a relative uncertainty $< 0.59 \times 10^{-6}$ using a flat-crystal spectrometer. The unique features of these measurements are 1) nearly perfect crystals whose lattice spacing is known in meters, 2) a highly precise angle scale that is derived from first principles, and 3) a gamma-ray measurement facility that is coupled to a high flux reactor with near-core source capability. The binding energy is obtained by measuring all gamma-rays in a cascade scheme connecting the capture and ground states. The measurements require the extension of precision flat-crystal diffraction techniques to the 5 to 6 MeV energy region, a significant precision measurement challenge. The binding energies determined from these gamma-ray measurements are consistent with recent highly accurate atomic mass measurements within a relative uncertainty of $4.3 \times 10^{-7}$. The gamma-ray measurement uncertainties are the dominant contributors to the uncertainty of this consistency test. The measured gamma-ray energies are in agreement with earlier precision gamma-ray measurements.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Political Leadership and Global Governance: Structural Power Versus Custodial Stewardship

This article examines the role of political leadership within the realm of global governance. Drawing upon relevant theories of political agency, particular attention is given to addressing the relationship between leadership and collective action. A two-level analysis of institution building in relation to maritime security and economic trade and investment reveals both strengths and weaknesses in practice. A review of the Law of the Sea Convention and the Multilateral Investment Agreement provides a salutary reminder that material power does not translate easily into dominating the rules of international conduct. The cases of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum and the Trans-Pacific Partnership further highlight the importance of mixed sources of political leadership in responding to economic challenges at the regional level. The policy implication for both the United States and China is that taking the lead in Global Governance, either jointly or multilaterally, will require a renewed focus upon custodial stewardship that aims to realign interests with long-term goals