Governance and its Emergence in the OECD

Abstract

The weather on 5 June 1947 was warm and sunny, a congenial setting for the 15,000 guests assembled in Harvard Yard for the university’s first normal commencement after the end of the war. One of the honorary degree recipients was Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, and he appeared distinctly nervous just before he was to give his address at the afternoon alumni association meeting. Marshall had had a brilliant military career, becoming Army Chief of Staff in 1939 just at the outbreak of war in Europe, and had been the US Ambassador to China when he was recalled by President Truman to become Secretary of State. No one in the audience expected anything but an ordinary commencement speech, including the President of Harvard, James B. Conant, who had entertained Marshall the evening before. Marshall’s delivery was described as flat and sometimes inaudible, but when it was over less than 20 minutes later, he had laid the foundation for what came to be known as the Marshall Plan, the foundation for a new partnership between the United States and war-torn Europe (Smith 1962).KeywordsPublic SectorPublic AdministrationPublic ManagementTechnical CooperationPolicy TransferThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.