A senior CIA intelligence analyst stressed in a lecture yesterday evening that the policies leaders enact today shape the views and actions of generations to come.
The talk — titled "The Next Generation of World Leaders" — was based primarily on a 2002 CIA study about generational changes in political thought and their effects on future world leaders.
"The real message we're trying to send to the policymakers [in Washington] is, what they're doing right now will have an effect on future generations," said the analyst, who asked to be referred to as "Betsy Q."
The study, similarly titled "The Next Generation of World Leaders: Emerging Traits and Tendencies," organized discussion panels of experts in academia, the business world and the intelligence community in an attempt to address issues of "leadership succession and generational change," according to a flyer distributed at the lecture.
Betsy said that the study had three goals: to help policymakers recognize the effects of policies implemented during the formative years of each generation in many countries, to deal with the lack of research in generational ideological change and to get leadership analysts to understand the tendencies of future leaders' behavior.
Though Betsy said that "generational perspectives do not explain all political behavior," the study showed that the political outlooks of a generation and its leaders were largely influenced by experiences and events that occurred during the generation's "formative years," the years from 17 to 25. The study also found and described trends in thinking and behavior among different generations in different countries that occurred as a result of such events.
How America is perceived and how it acts over the next few years will "create many of the formative experiences shaping emerging and subsequent generations," according to the study.
The lecture provided examples of trends among several different generations in a number of countries that play a large role in U.S. strategic interests. Betsy requested, however, that specific information be withheld from publication.
Despite the far-reaching implications of the study, Betsy pointed out that its findings are just the beginning. "We just scratched the surface," she said. "We took the first cut to sensitize people to this issue."
After the presentation, she fielded questions on the study, possible job opportunities at the CIA and the CIA's changing role in today's world.
The lecture was held as part of the ongoing International Opportunities Week series and was sponsored by the Office of Career Services.
Read More
‘A brilliant young contemporary writer and a beautiful human being’: Remembering Lauren Blackburn ’26
Victoria Davies and Caitlyn TabladaBlackburn was found deceased by authorities on April 25, several days after he was reported missing. He was 23 years old at the time of his death and is remembered by friends and mentors as a brilliant writer, voracious learner, and loving friend. A family obituary said he passed away after a “courageous battle with bipolar disorder.”
Blackburn was found deceased by authorities on April 25, several days after he was reported missing. He was 23 years old at the time of his death and is remembered by friends and mentors as a brilliant writer, voracious learner, and loving friend. A family obituary said he passed away after a “courageous battle with bipolar disorder.”
GSG approves audit, delays budget approval after ‘insufferable’ meeting
Nikki HanThe final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
The final Graduate Student Government (GSG) meeting for the semester lasted more than an hour and a half when discussions over the proposed budget for the next year and a proposed Student Life Fee of $100 turned controversial.
Effort to restore chapel’s pews slowly progresses
Ben GoldstonHead carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.
Head carpenter Jim Sullivan has been restoring the Chapel pews over the last year. The dry atmosphere of the Chapel has warped the wooden pews over the years.