DAVIDSON, N.C., Nov. 22, 2005 - Russell Crandall, a Davidson College political scientist, has published numerous op-ed pieces about Latin American affairs in the Wall Street Journal and been a regular contributor to domestic and international media about events in the region. But Crandall hasn’t been very interested in talking with the press during the last three months, since the day he walked away from the White House after nine months spent as a staff member at the National Security Council (NSC).

In 2004 Crandall received a prestigious fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations to spend a year working at a high level in a government agency. For three months he served as a special assistant to the Deputy Director for Counter-terrorism at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, working on the U.S. government’s response to Islamic terrorism. In November 2004 he was called to the White House to work at the National Security Council, which Foreign Policy magazine recently labeled as “the most powerful committee in the world.”

Crandall was appointed Director for Western Hemisphere Initiatives, one of five advisors for the Western Hemisphere to the President and National Security Advisor. In that pressure-cooker environment inside the White House where work days could stretch to sixteen hours, he fielded a ceaseless barrage of highly classified e-mail messages, analyzed America’s diplomatic actions and policies in the hemisphere, drafted memos for the president and National Security Advisor that helped determine the country’s foreign policy, and deliberated policy in the Situation Room with top foreign policy officials. 

The experience provided this Davidson assistant professor an extraordinarily valuable look inside the highest level of American government. It gave him rare insights to share in the classroom, and a profound appreciation for the hard work of officials who wrestle with important, intractable situations every day.

“It really changed my outlook,” admitted Crandall. “Given that I was on the NSC, my access was to sensitive information was unprecedented even for government. Being privy to classified intelligence made me realize how much people outside of that environment don’t know, even if they think that they do know. I’m reminded of the time when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said, ‘People that talk don’t know, and people that know don’t talk.’ “

President Bush meets with National Security Council on Sept. 12, 2001

He continued, “I’m much more skeptical now of what I read in the press because reporters often don’t have the full story, or are predisposed to cover an event from a certain angle. And over the course of my time in government, I often asked myself if I perhaps I had done too much pontificating from my own ivory tower in education.”

Based in part on his time in the White House, Crandall has written an article for the winter edition of the widely read journal, The National Interest, that he hopes will help set the record straight on current relations between America and Latin American nations. Entitled “The Myth of the Latin American Backlash,” the article contends that media focus on vocal protests in South America against U.S. policies ignores the fact that relations between North and South are the strongest in almost fifty years. “Contrary to the general impression, there’s been significant progress on making democracy the only game in town in the Western hemisphere,” he said. “Almost all governments in Latin America are cooperating with us now on key issues such as making military forces more respectful of human rights, and both sides are eager for progress in trade relations.”

He writes in the article, “The region at times is stymied by a vicious cycle of voter apathy, poor public institutions, anemic economic activity and continued social unease. But the most encouraging sign is that Latin Americans seem predisposed to solve social and economic problems via the ballot box. Popular dissatisfaction with the pace or outcome of reforms has not lead to revolutions or coups d’état.”

Crandall concludes that a continued low-key U.S. approach to the region is best because, “A number of Latin American governments—especially the leftist ones—are hesitant to be seen as too close to Washington; yet, behind the scenes they are developing increasingly deep and trustful relationships with the United States.”

Crandall’s opportunity to work with the National Security Council was built on an outstanding record of scholarship, publication, public service, and teaching in Latin American affairs. He received his Ph.D. degree from Johns Hopkins University in 2000, writing a thesis about U.S. policy toward Colombia, and joined the Davidson faculty that year.

He served as a consultant to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for three years, and also was a consultant to the National Security Agency, the United Nations, and the World Bank. In 1997-98, Crandall worked in Colombia as a human rights officer with Catholic Relief Services. He published a book entitled Driven by Drugs: US Policy Toward Colombia, and co-edited a two others entitled, The Andes in Focus: Security, Democracy & Economic Reform and Mexico’s Democracy at Work: Political and Economic Dynamics. He was so dynamic in his teaching role that in 2003 Davidson students selected him to receive the college’s Omicron Delta Kappa Teaching Award.

Crandall said he always eager to work at the National Security Council, and the fellowship made his dream come true. “I got to see first-hand the political process that I spend so much time as an academician writing and teaching about,” he said. “I always wondered as an academic if I could hack it in the rough and tumble, merciless environment of policymaking. I found out that President Eisenhower had it right when he said, ‘If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.’ You always have to take care of yourself in that environment. It’s not as collegial and supportive as the campus. I came back to Davidson liberated, knowing that I can do it, but I don’t have to.”

The National Security Council, founded in 1947, is chaired by the President, and serves as the President’s principal forum for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. It also serves as the President’s principal arm for coordinating these policies among various government agencies.  Crandall reported to the National Security Council’s Thomas Shannon, Senior Director for the Western Hemisphere, who reported directly to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and then her successor, Stephen Hadley.

As an academic rather than a government employee, Crandall was an anomaly in his office. Some valued his “tweed jacket wearing, pipe smoking professor” perspective, but he was at a disadvantage in his unfamiliarity with government personnel and policy process. “To make policy effectively is very entrepreneurial work,” he said. “You have to know who to contact about matters, and where various agencies stand on issues. And I certainly didn’t fully appreciate how mentally and physically exhausting this sort of work is, or how easily you can resent outside critics who adopt what often appears as such a gratuitous and unfounded manner toward your work. ”

Crandall also had to deal with the challenge of joining a White House administration that is, almost by definition, partisan. “It’s become increasingly rare for apolitical advisors to work for both Democratic and Republican administrations. Decades ago this wasn’t so much the case. Today, sadly, I suspect that in some circles any sort of perceived affiliation with the Bush administration will immediately taint me as partisan or ideological. Or vice versa had I worked for a Democratic administration.  I think it’s healthier and ultimately better policy when we retain advisors who can serve both sides of the aisle.” Crandall added that he would have remained on at the NSC had a Kerry administration taken over last January.  

He received an important lesson in international perspective when he spent part of one day helping prepare Vice President Dick Cheney for a meeting with the Argentine vice president. “Reviewing talking points seemed like just one more minor duty in a busy day,” he said. “But the meeting was front page news in the Argentine newspapers the next day. It highlighted the fact that minor actions can have big international effects.”

Though Middle Eastern affairs have overshadowed public concern for Latin America recently, Crandall and his colleagues were fully occupied. There was concern over America’s relationship with Venezuela, an important oil supplier whose President, Hugo Chavez, frequently engages in anti-American rhetoric. “We have concerns about democracy and human rights there, but we also import a lot of Venezuelan oil. Creating appropriate responses to his accusations consumed a lot of time,” he said.

Crandall also moderated inter-agency meetings to ensure that particular government agency actions fit within larger U.S. strategic objectives, developed a hemispheric security strategy designed to address new and emerging security threats in the Americas, and took the lead in formulating and coordinating the U.S. response to China’s growing interest in Latin America.

He worked on the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and helped organize a summit meeting in Texas between President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Mexican President Vincente Fox. Before leaving, he was the NSC’s policy coordinator for the early November “Summit of the Americas” meeting in Argentina that gathered all the heads of state from the hemisphere to discuss a variety of issues.

“It was both exhilarating and terrifying to be one of the president’s foreign policy advisors,” he said. “There’s no place to hide if you make a mistake because the staff is very small and everyone knows everyone.”

He walked out the door on July 1, 2005, the same day his twin sons were born. The change in lifestyle and environment was as radical as Alice walking through the looking glass. “It was over completely,” he said. “I was out. It was totally behind me. Now I watch ‘The West Wing’ television show and think, ‘Wait a minute, I used to be there. But why are the figures on TV so much better looking, and why aren’t they cursing every other word?’ It’s interesting because I realize government is an institution with interchangeable players. The power is in the position, and not the person. It was my position for a while and it was a fantastic experience and privilege to serve my country, but now it’s someone else’s. I’m delighted to be back at Davidson.”

He’s content to leave Washington behind, work in the less pressured environment of campus, and spend more time with his infant sons. In reviewing his remarkable year, however, he finds similarities between life at the National Security Council and the Davidson classroom. He noted, “Discussions about Latin American policy in the White House Situation Room aren’t that different from our discussions in a class on U.S.-Latin American relations. In class, we spend months intensely studying the historical context of situations, and theories of foreign policy, but invariably end up asking questions that I heard in Washington, such as, ‘How do we respond to Chavez in Venezuela? What is best approach for Colombia?’”

The experience has revitalized him as a teacher, and sharpened his skill at writing and organizing his thoughts quickly. “I’d get a call and they’d say, ‘We need five pages on China in Latin America for tomorrow.’ The pressure was on. It had to be good because important people were going to read it.”

He also hopes that he can inspire some students to consider government service. “We need our best and brightest in there,” he asserted.

In addition to returning to teaching, Crandall is finishing a book slated to be published in early 2006 — Gunboat Democracy? U.S. Interventions in The Dominican Republic, Grenada, and Panama. During the 2006-07 school year, he will be on sabbatical, and will write a second edition of his book on Colombia and work on a new book about U.S. policy toward Latin America since the end of the Cold War.