International Affairs Capstone Projects

Client: DIA Office of Space and Counterspace

Instructor: S. White

Client: Afghanistan War Commission

Instructor: L. Weissgold

Client:  Dr. Robing Geiss, Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDR)

Instructor:  Gary Brown

Client: Sandia National Laboratories

Instructor:  Prof. Jasen Castillo

Client: California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)

Instructor:  Prof. Silva Hamie

Client:  Reichman University – Institute of Counter terrorism

Instructor:  Prof. Mike Howell

Client:  USNORTHCOMM/USAFA

Instructor:  Prof. Valerie Hudson

Client:   US Space Force

Instructor:  Prof. Mike Jackson

Client: NGO – International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES)

Instructor:  Prof. Andrew Natsios

Client:   National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)

Instructor:  Prof. Elizabeth Sherman

Client: National Security Agency/Central Security Service

Instructor:  Prof. Kathie Weary

Client: FBI

Instructor: M. Kelly

Client: SOCOM

Instructor: A. Holmes

Client: Center for Naval Analyses

Instructor: S. Daly

Client: CSIS

Instructor: S. Daly

Client: Afghanistan War Commission

Instructor: L. Weissgold

Client:  Conrad Prince of the Royal Uniformed Services Institute (RUSI)

Instructor:  Gary Brown

Client: National Nuclear Security Administration Sandia National Laboratories

Instructor:  Prof. Jasen Castillo

Client: Maui Emergency Management Agency (TBC)

Instructor:  Prof. Silva Hamie

Client: US Agency for International Development (USAID), Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)

Instructor:  Prof. Ben Helms

Client: The Office of Global Women’s Issues of the US State Department

Instructor:  Prof. Valerie Hudson

Client:  Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict

Instructor:  Prof. Reyko Huang

Client:  US Space Force – Space Delta 15

Instructor:  Prof. Mike Jackson

Client:  Middle East Bureau of USAID

Instructor:  Prof. Andrew Natsios

Client: INDOPACOM

Instructor:  Prof. William Norris

Client: Cheetah Conservation of Botswana

Instructor:  Prof. Leslie Ruyle

Client:  DNI Funding, CIA Supervisor on Terrorism and Middle East

Instructor:  Prof. Ronald Sievert

Client:  United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

Instructor:  Prof. Greg Vogle

Client:  National Security Agency/Central Security service

Instructor:  Prof. Kathie Weary

Client: Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict

Instructor: Huang

Client: US Space Force–Space Delta 15

Instructor: Jackson

Client: United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM)

Instructor: Vogle

Client: Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) Bureau of USAID

Instructor: Helms

Client: Maui Emergency Management Agency (TBC)

Instructor: Hamie

Client: Cheetah Conservation of Botswana

Instructor: Ruyle

Client: Middle East Bureau of USAID

Instructor: Natsios

Client: The Office of Global Women’s Issues of the US State Dept

Instructor: Hudson

Client: National Nuclear Security Administration Sandia National Laboratories

Instructor: Castillo

Client: INDOPACOM

Instructor: Norris

Client: Conrad Prince of the Royal Uniformed Services Institute

Instructor: Brown

Client: NSA/Central Security Service

Instructor: Weary

Client: CIA

Instructor: E. Lemon

Client: Senate Sgt Arms

Instructor: G. Ross

Client: DNI

Instructor: G. Ross

Client: Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the RAND Corporation

Instructor: J Castillo

Client: IOM (Int’l Organization of Migration)

Instructor: S Hamie

Client: State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues

Instructor: V Hudson

Client: Dir. of National Space Defense Center (U.S. Space Command) & Com. of Space Delta 15 (U.S. Space Force)

Instructor: M Jackson

Client: USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean

Instructor: J Morales-Arilla

Client: The World Bank: Salman Asim, Sr. Economist, Education Global Practice *Mara Ana Lugo, Program Leader for China, Mongolia, and Korea, Human Devp, E. Asia & Pacific *Sailesh Tiwari, Lead Economist, Poverty and Equity Global Practice, E. Asia & Pacific

Instructor: R Mu

Client: Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance in the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Instructor: A Natsios

Client: Center for Presidential Transition

Instructor: W Norris

Client: CIA

Instructor: R Sievert

Client: National Security Agency/ Central Security Service

Instructor: K Weary

Client: Sandia National Laboratory

Instructor: K Weary

Client: Baltic Security Foundation

Instructor: G Marin Thornton

Client: FBI

Instructor: M Howell

Client: The Rand Corporation and Sandia National Lab

Instructor: J Castillo

Client: Central Intelligence Agency

Instructor: R Sievert

Detailing Career Intelligence Employees for Assignments in the Private Sector and Accepting Private Intelligence Employees for Tours of Duty in the Intelligence Community.

Client: Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU), a component of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)

Instructor: A Chinchilla

Client: US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC), ARCYBER, US Space Command, Joint Special Operations University, DIA

Instructor: M Gill

Client: Athena Research Center- Greece

Instructor: S Hamie

Client: U.S. Embassy, Budapest, Hungary

Instructor: R Holzweiss

Client: FBI, Headquarters, Counterintelligence Division

Instructor: M Howell

Client: Cyber Committee of the Space ISAC

Instructor: K McLaughlin

Client: The World Bank (Poverty & Equity Practice – East Asia & Pacific)

Client: The Soufan Center

Client: FBI & NCFTA

Client: U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees

Client: RAND Corporation

Client: Dept of State & the US Institute of Peace

Client: Dept of Defense’s US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)

Client: U.S. Space Force

Client: The State Dept’s Office of Global Women’s Issues

Client: USCYBEROM

Client: Central Intelligence Agency

Client: Stratfor

Client: US SOUTHCOM

Client: The Atlantic Council DC

Client: Center on Conflict and Development (Texas A&M)

Client: US CENTCOM

Client: USAID Mexico City Office

Client: National Security Agency/Central Security Service

Client: Soufan Group

Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues (Dept. of State)

Client: Department of State

Client: The RAND Corporation

Client: FBI & NCFTA

Client: United States Indo-Pacific Command

Client: State DRL and NDI

Client: Nat’l Democratic Institute

Client: Stratfor

Client: USSOUTHCOM, Defense Dept.

Client: UNICEF-Jordan

Client: Center for Global Security and Cooperation, Sandia National Laboratories

Client: Dr. Niels V. Redecker, the Director of the German Information Center at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington D.C.

Client: NSA/Central Security Service – Counter-Terrorism Office

Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues, US State Department

Client: Department of State

Client: The RAND Corporation’s Intelligence Policy Center

Client: NCFTA

Client: Office of Commercial and Economic Analysis

Client: Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening (CEPPS)

Instructor: Professor Jessica Gottlieb

Client: Center for Conflict and Development

Instructor: Professor Silva Hamie

Client: United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)

Instructor: Gen. Don MacWillie

Client: Office of Global Women’s Issues, US Department of State

Instructor: Professor Valerie Hudson

Client: Stratfor

Instructor: Professor Ron Sievert

Client: US Embassy Manaugua, Nicaragua

Instructor: Dr. Robert Holzweiss, Deputy Director, G.H.W. Bush Presidential Library

Client: USAID Democracy, Human Rights and Governance Center

Instructor: Professor Jessica Gottlieb

Client: Office of Women’s Issues, U.S. Department of State

Instructor: Professor Valerie Hudson

Client: The Center on Conflict and Development

Instructor: Dr. Leslie Ruyle

Client: U.S. Department of State

Instructor: Professor Mohammad Tabaar

Client: UNICEF

Instructor: Professor Silva Hamie

Client: United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM)

Instructor: Gen. Don MacWillie

Client: U.S. Embassy in Panama – Cultural Affairs Section

Instructor: Dr. Robert Holzweiss, Deputy Director, George H.W. Bush Presidential Library

Client: World Wildlife Fund

Instructor: Deborah Walker

Client: Center on Conflict and Development, Texas A&M University

Instructor: Dr. Silva Hamie

Client: The Center on Conflict and Development at Texas A&M University and USAID

Instructor: Professor Ren Mu

Client: USSOUTHCOM, Doral, Florida

Instructor: Gen. Don Mac Willie

Client: Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX

Instructor: Amb. Eduardo Aguirre

Client: Middle East Institute, Washington

Instructor: Professor Mohammad Tabaar

Client: Human Development Network of the World Bank and USAID

Supervising Instructor: Ren Mu

Authors: Zachary Barrett, Andrea Berrios, Yukuai He, Sean Larsen, Miguel Novoa, Kwame Twumasi-Ankraah, Camille Vega

Youth employment, and its limitations, is a pertinent problem that most developing nations face. “Youth Employment in Ghana: Conditions and Determinants” is a student-led research project that summarizes and analyzes the conditions of youth employment in Ghana as of 2013. The purpose of this report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the impacts of individual, household, and community characteristics on youth employment outcomes. This study finds that Ghana’s youth labor issues center around the low quality of jobs rather than unemployment. The findings highlight the issue of gender gap, the importance of family background and community infrastructure in youth labor outcomes.

Youth Employment in Ghana Capstone

Client: United Nations Development Program

Supervising Professor: Silva Hamie

Client: The World Bank – Governance Practice

Supervising Professor: Reyko Huang

Client: CEPRODE

Supervising Professor: Jessica Gottlieb

Client: USCYBERCOM

Supervising Professor: Andrew L. Ross

Client: Miller Center for Oral History, University of Virginia

Supervising Instructor: Robert Holzweiss

Client: USINDOPACOM

Supervising Professor: David Millar

Client: National Defense University, Center for the Study of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Supervising Professor: Col. (R) Don W. Bailey

Client: Robert Bosch Stiftung

Supervising Professor: Gabriela Marin Thornton

Client: U.S. Department of State

Supervising Professor: Ron Sievert

Client: Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical, Biological Radiological, and Nuclear Matters & The Joint Requirements Office for CBRN Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, J-8

Supervising Instructor: Col. (R) Don W. Bailey

Authors: Iain Armstrong, Erin Berry, Alexander Bitter, Leland Colburn, Kathleen Karika, Jose Paulino, Rebekah Redden, Thomas “Tex” Vien, Lodrick Williams

On July 31, 2012, the President of the United States signed into effect the first-ever National Security Strategy for Biosurveillance. This Strategy’s goal is to provide the critical information and ongoing situational awareness that enables better decision-making at all levels. Students in this capstone became familiar with the concepts of biosurveillance; reviewed past plans and policies; reviewed current thought on implementation through open source literature and interviews with experts; and then developed recommendations on how to implement this security strategy.

Client: USAID, Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights and Governance

Supervising Instructor: Scott Pool

Authors: Dustin Achgill, Jacob Geray, Hafid El Hachimi, Vaibhavi Jadhav, Emily Mullins, Himani Reddy, Trey Sparks, Natalia Valdez-Vivas, Erik Walker

This capstone builds on efforts taking place within USAID by bringing together students from the George Bush School of Government and Public Service and the School of Rural Public Health. The project focused on how donor agencies are engaging with local organizations and governments to facilitate incremental improvements in governance, institutional capacity and formal/informal aspects of accountability, examining how core competencies from health and democracy sectors can yield more sustainable development outcomes.

Client: CIA

Supervising Instructor: Ron Sievert

Authors: Amber Stubblefield, Leah Stockstill, Emily Westerhof, Eric Hopper, Zach Pinones, Mark Niegelsky, Devon Mickle, Cristina Davis, Caroline Rothrock

This project involved conducting a survey of students or new IC employees to determine the current attitude, knowledge, perceptions, and standard methodological approach of millennial applicants and employees. The goal was to understand how current culture has affected the thinking of college age students who constitute the potential future workforce, informing IC recruitment, career shaping, and collection/analysis practices.

Client: U.S. State Department

Supervising Instructor: Mohammad Tabaar

Authors: Amber Stubblefield, Leah Stockstill, Emily Westerhof, Eric Hopper, Zach Pinones, Mark Niegelsky, Devon Mickle, Cristina Davis, Caroline Rothrock

The goal of this capstone was to identify, analyze, and assess various courses of action that the United States can take towards Iran. Looking through the prism of US grand strategy in the Persian Gulf, this project evaluated the costs and benefits of a wide range of options, from military confrontation to full rapprochement between Washington and Tehran. The team conducted original research, including interviews with former and current US officials, addressing issues such as Iran’s nuclear challenge, its role in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and human rights and democracy promotion.

Client: National Counter Terrorism Center

Supervising Instructor: Richard Mac Namee

Authors: Jacob Brahce, Jessica Koloini, Reginald Thompson, Patrick Issa, Chandra Caldwell, Gabriel Bedingfield, Brett Ayers, Garrett VanderGrinten, Caitlin Harwood

NCTC traveled to College Station to meet the students and refine the subject area. The team was subdivided into topic specific areas under a Project Manager. Throughout the semester the team developed a 60 minute presentation of their collective findings, which was presented to NCTC in DC towards the end of April 2013. The team’s findings were also captured in a written deliverable submitted to NCTC at the time of the presentation.

Client: Center for the Study of Intelligence

Supervising Instructor: Ronald Sievert

Authors: Judah Burk, Elizabeth Jones, Paige Ericson, Cheryl Mitchell, Kara Fillman, Randy Rodgers, Jon Graber, Naomi Wilson

This report assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the Joint Duty (JD) program as it is currently implemented at the CIA. The Bush School 2012 Capstone interviewed 160 CIA employees who completed a JD assignment. The study concluded that employees find value in the program, are well-integrated within their host agency, and achieve the program’s mission of increasing employees’ knowledge of other Intelligence Community agencies. Weaknesses identified included disproportionately high numbers of employees choosing ODNI and NRO assignments, insufficient manager guidance, failure to maintain contact with JD employees, difficulty returning to CIA upon completion, and inconsistent views regarding promotion potential.

Client: National Counter Terrorism Center

Supervising Instructor: Richard Mac Namee

Authors: David Arceneaux, Casey Braswell, Brett Heil, Adam Kirby, Keith Landry, Amy Murphy, Tom Nypaver, Elizabeth Solch, Keith Wilkinson

Understanding a country’s complex security environment and its vulnerability to terrorism is difficult. Terrorism in today’s world is fluid, personalized, and dynamic. To mitigate the threats of terrorism, a country must understand the nature of threats facing its security environment by identifying the core liabilities and accelerants that most directly impact its security environment in a negative way.

Client: The RAND Corporation’s Intelligence Policy Center

Supervising Instructor: Jasen Castillo

Authors: Austin Cook, William Edmiston, Stuart Glenn, Derek Goodwin, Matthew Kaehr, James Nebl, Benjamin Phares, Elizabeth Yang, Jessica Yeo

Under what conditions can the Intelligence Community cut its resources while still maintaining their effectiveness? This project examined lessons learned from previous eras of reduction, helping the Intelligence Community think about what to cut and how to implement changes while still carrying out missions effectively. The project produced an article-length report as well as a briefing presented to the sponsor in Washington, DC.

Client: The World Bank

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Ren Mu

Authors: Alexander Chester, Thao Dang, Amanda Edgell, Matthew Harber, Dace Mahanay, Matthew Messer, Meaghan Mueller, Luis Ramos

Although Zambia has enjoyed decent economic growth, its employment growth and labor productivity have continued to stagnate. This Capstone project aims to answer this question through empirical analysis of employment decisions and labor productivity at the firm level using the 2008 Zambia Business Survey and the 2011 World Bank Investment Climate Survey. The study concludes that to improve business registration, policymakers should target rural and agricultural firms, reduce red-tape, and expand education. To improve labor productivity and employment, focus should be on targeting younger firms, increasing agricultural yields, improving infrastructure, and fighting government corruption.

Client: Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Kishore Gawande

Authors: Michele Breaux, Jared Carter, Yue Cui, Mary Gaard, Jerry Kenney, Melissa La Reau, Armando Rojas, David Sutton

A database and GIS map detail the location and outcome of over 8000 development projects. Most of these are CERP projects undertaken by US armed forces in Afghanistan. The GIS map allows users to click on points showing the location of projects and access details such as project cost, funder, and project goals. The database includes CERP, PRT, Borlaug, USAID, and other projects.

Client: CENTRA Technology

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Engel

Authors: Aimee Anderson, Abby Doll, Andrew Giblin, Matthew Jennings, Shelley Nauss, Renee Pirrong, Stephanie Shaffer, George Stasny

The team was tasked by CENTRA Technology, Inc., to create a methodology that could be used to prioritize critical cyber assets in the United States. They developed a user-friendly, consequence-based methodology that requires end users to carefully consider their cyber assets’ contributions to vital missions of national security, economic security, and public safety.

Client: The RAND Corporation’s Intelligence Policy Center

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Jasen Castillo

Authors: Riley Barnes, Stephen Davis, Dori Enderle, Matthew Jacobs, Laura Joost, Michael Perkins, Steven Snodgrass, Nathanael Stone, Melisa Woolfolk

The project developed a framework comparing opposition groups and regimes across different historical cases. The team argued the Iranian regime retains a strong grip on power, using both the threat of US intervention and domestic support for its nuclear program to rally support for the government. Unlike recent revolutions in the Arab world, the opposition stands little chance of toppling the government. The project’s framework also identified conditions under which the Iranian opposition might gain enough strength to overthrow the regime.

Client: Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, Washington, DC

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Gabriela Marin Thornton

Authors: Amy Beth Coffman, James Crump, Robbi Dickson, Meaghan Mueller, Sarah Pulis

By analyzing Ukraine’s precarious security environment and assessing the current security situation in the Black Sea, this paper sought to identify a prototype for Ukraine’s role in the BSR. The result was a clear realization of Ukraine’s unique situation – a nation with divisionary demographics, external pressures on internal politics, and mixed ideas about economic opportunities and priorities in a neighborhood of states with competing influences and capabilities.

Client: Long Range Analysis Unit, National Intelligence Council

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Christopher Layne

Authors: Steven Beard, Craig Caruana, Charles Coats, Robert Haguewood, Jong-Hwan Lee, Broderick Morgan, Joshua Murray, Michael Riedell

This project explores the growing web of connections in the area of energy interdependence among the East Asian states and India with oil producing states in the Persian Gulf region. The project examines whether these relations are primarily economic or geopolitical, and whether they herald a geostrategic shift with wealth and power flowing from West to East.

Client: Energy Information Administration (EIA), Department of Energy

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Kishore Gawande

Authors: Sarah Acuna, Christopher Akujuobi, Nicholas Brigance, Zhen Du, Brian Kasper, Trevor Nearburg

In this project for the US Department of Energy, the team modeled the impacts of future US climate legislation. Policy scenarios are drawn from the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACESA), which serves as a blueprint for the future. The goal was to motivate US producers to reduce emissions in five manufacturing industries: Iron and Steel, Non-ferrous Metals, Non-metallic Minerals, Pulp and Paper, and Chemicals.

Client: CENTRA Technology

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Jeffrey Engel

Authors: Richard Bell, Jared Bennett, Jillian Boles, David Goodoien, Jeffrey Irving, Phillip Kuhlman, Amanda White

This Capstone group developed an analytical model, complete with programmed user interface, to aid intelligence analysts in estimating the expected economic impacts of economic espionage conducted by foreign corporations and countries.

Client: Central Intelligence Agency

Supervising Instructor: Professor Ronald Sievert

Authors: Kristin Childress, Bethany Comley, Drew Davis, Timothy Hopp, Melissa Miller, Whitney Morehead, Amy Potter, Natalie Prendergast, Pablo Rivera

At the request of the CIA’s Center for the Study of Intelligence, a team from the Bush School conducted an inquiry to determine how the CIA responded to the investigations of the 9/11 and WMD Commissions. The goal was to identify what actions the D/CIA must take when confronted with future commissions to ensure that the most accurate picture of the Agency is presented.

Client: Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State

Supervising Instructor: Dr. Andrew Scobell

Authors: Nicholas Hogan, Thomas Kearney, Tina Li, Louellen Lowe, Cristine Salo, Gregory Stevenson, Adam Trull, Abby Volk

The INR tasked the Capstone group to explore how China manages its relations with three key proliferators: Iran, North Korea, and Pakistan. Within each bilateral relationship, the students found that Beijing consistently rated other foreign policy objectives above nonproliferation. Based on these findings, the Capstone group identified the interests the US should use as leverage to gain Chinese cooperation on nonproliferation initiatives.

Client: U.S.-Ukraine Business Council

Project Advisor: Dr. Gabriela Marin Thornton

Authors: William Landrum, Benjamin Lewellyn, Craig Limesand, Dante Miller, James Morris, Kathleen Nowell, Charlotte Sherman

This project claims that Russia is using its energy monopoly to further its geostrategic aims: ensuring political influence in nearby countries, obtaining a rise in commodity prices, and returning to multi-polarity in which Russia maintains clear regional hegemony. The report argues that the US must promote development of pipelines that bypass Russian control and advance alternative domestic sources to ease European dependence on Russian energy.

Client: Centra Technology, Inc./Department of Homeland Security

Supervising Instructor: Jeffrey A. Engel

The client sought a conceptual approach or theoretical model for determining how governments should value, assess, and balance risks that arise from illegal immigration, weapons smuggling, the narcotics trade, natural disasters, and terrorism. The students compiled and evaluated the available literature and developed a structure by which policymakers should consider the difficulties of regional risk assessment.

Client: Creative Associates International, Inc./U.S. Department of Labor

Supervising Instructor: Kishore Gawande

This project focused on how to reduce child labor in Panama, using the DESTINO program, a joint effort of two Panamanian organizations: Casa Esperanza and Fundación Tierra Nueva. DESTINO seeks to reduce the incidence of child labor through community workshops, income generation activities, scholarship activities, teacher training programs, and civil society programs.

Client: The RAND Corporation/Department of Defense

Supervising Instructor: Jasen J. Castillo

This capstone project laid out a framework to help the intelligence community craft its own unique doctrine for counterinsurgencies. The project looked at intelligence operations crucial for defeating insurgencies, the operational factors that are most effective, and lessons learned from past counterinsurgency successes and failures.

Client: National Counter Terrorism Center

Supervising Instructor: Sara Daly

This project analyzed the current terrorist threat to the U.S. homeland both from homegrown terrorists and those who represent foreign terrorist organizations. The study examined recent cases of thwarted attacks and failed plots to determine current capabilities and tactics possessed by terrorist groups and individuals.

Client: Nuclear Nonproliferation Office of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Supervising Instructor: Larry Napper

This capstone project conducted a focused examination of the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) and identified options for U.S. policy makers by designing a simulated interdiction operation. Capstone students joined students from Texas A&M’s Department of Nuclear Engineering to construct and execute a mini-move simulation.

Client: Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations

This 2008 Capstone research continues the work of a 2007 project on interagency processes in support and stability operations. This study analyzed how US national security policies, strategies, and objectives have changed since 2001. It also estimated the effectiveness of the contemporary national security system in addressing “human security,” or threats to the survival of societies, groups, and individuals.

Client: Long Range Analysis Unit, National Intelligence Council (NIC)

This project supported the National Intelligence Council’s production of its report Mapping the Future: 2025. With China’s great rise to power in the background, this capstone helped assess the most likely security outcomes for East Asia in 2025. The Capstone briefed the NIC and other analysts from the intelligence community and also briefed the China desk team under the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs.

Client: Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Ft. Polk, Louisiana

Two separate but parallel capstones combined intensive classroom study and civilian support field exercises to US military counterinsurgency operations, focused on the model of interagency Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Students visited JRTC in Louisiana to play a PRT role during the training of a US Army Combat brigade en route to Iraq.

Client: World Bank, Trade Division

This is the second part of a study asking whether exports to developed countries are hampered by the inability of developing Southern African countries to participate fully in the meat export market. After conducting in-depth research, students designed a survey model and flew two group members to Southern Africa to conduct the survey. Using supportive research, economic development theory, and survey results, students compiled a report presented to the client.

Client: Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Stability Operations

This study addressed the support, stability, and reconstruction missions for the U.S. government in counterinsurgency warfare and suggests that interagency processes between civilian and military elements are in need of reform. The project examined, assessed, and defined the nature of these problems in the context of historical case studies, policymaking, and current operations, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Client: World Bank Trade Division

This capstone project dealt with standards imposed on the trade of agricultural imports from developing countries by developed countries. BSE, foot and mouth disease, and avian flu are major concerns for US and European consumers. The project addressed whether there are alternatives to current policies and whether it is possible to institute policies that are less burdensome and yet achieve the desired outcome of reducing the risk of spreading diseases.

Client: The Long Range Analysis Group, National Intelligence Council (Director of National Intelligence)

Looking ahead to 2025, what policies should future US administrations consider as appropriate responses to climate change? The project addressed the most likely manifestations of global climate change, how politically salient the issue will be, low-probability but potentially catastrophic events, and the positive spin-offs from addressing climate change consequences.

Client: U.S. Department of State

Students worked to develop an extensive database on contemporary Uzbekistan through library and online research and interviews with leading experts. Bush School students constructed and executed a multi-move simulation to explore the challenges, opportunities, and policy options confronting U.S. policy-makers.

Client: Princeton University Press

Students researched the diary of George Bush, 41st President of the United States, written during the time he served as the Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing (1974-1975). Searching through archives and preparing text and footnotes, the students contributed work for an upcoming publication from Princeton University Press.

Client: Centra Technology

The Iraqi insurgency was formed by multiple nationalities and ethnicities with disparate goals and motivations. A central question to understanding the insurgency’s unity is whether there is command and control, which is defined as the sharing of tactics, information, and skills. This capstone explored this question by investigating how insurgent groups in the past have managed to communicate and disseminate tactics, even while operating in a dangerous environment controlled by their more powerful adversary.

Client: County Judge Randy Sims, Texas Director of Homeland Security, and the Department of Homeland Security

Gaps of understanding exist between Homeland Security Response and Recovery strategies and policies at the federal level versus understanding, authority, and capability at the state and local level. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provide an excellent case study to see what policies should be changed in the areas of response and recovery to major disasters in the future.

Client: Ambassador David Abshire and the Laury Foundation

The President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB) was established in 1956 to provide the President with a nonpartisan evaluation of the role and effectiveness of U.S. intelligence collection, counterintelligence, covert action operations, and intelligence analysis. In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy and the new intelligence reform environment, this analysis examined the role of the PFIAB to determine its strengths and weaknesses and to identify a productive role in the new environment.

Client: Grameen Bank

Much of the world’s poor has difficulty in obtaining loans, especially microfinance. Students in this capstone project interacted with members from both the Community Reinvestment Fund (CRF) and Grameen Capital India (GCI) and applied the lessons of the CRF to the GCI. They provided valuable advice to GCI on how it can enhance financial assistance for very small entrepreneurs in India, especially housing finance.