Podcast: Moving Beyond Politics in The Selection of National Security Leaders

Mark Stout discusses the process by which national security leaders are appointed with former Assistant Secretary of Defense Stephen Duncan, author of the recent book Only the Most Able: Moving Beyond Politics in The Selection of National Security Leaders.

Duncan, an adjunct instructor in the MA in Global Security Studies Program, argues that both Democratic and Republican administrations apply the wrong criteria in selecting nominees for defense, diplomatic and intelligence positions. He adds that the Senate has consistently fallen down in meeting its “advise and consent” obligations. He urges the government to learn from how the US military grows leaders and to apply stricter standards.

Visit Stephen Duncan’s faculty page here.

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