Of the various activities and scholarships pursued by professors who opt to take an leave of absence from the University, few are currently in the national spotlight regarding policy with the war in Iraq.
Peter Feaver, Alexander F. Hehmeyer professor of political science and public policy, is currently serving as a National Security Council advisor to the Bush administration.
Feaver was tapped for the Council in June after he and fellow colleagues Christopher Gelpi, an associate professor in political science, and Jason Reifler, who was a graduate student in the political science department at Duke and now teaches at Loyola University Chicago, presented their research on public opinion with regard to the war to the Bush administration last year.
Since that time, Feaver has been a major player in shaping the way President George W. Bush communicates his strategy for the war to the public.
"It is not uncommon that someone at Duke is in the public eye," said John Burness, senior vice president for public and government relations. "He's doing important work for the country."
Burness added that Feaver, who declined to be interviewed, told him a few months ago that he was fascinated with and greatly enjoyed his new job.
Feaver, Gelpi and Reifler's research found that Americans will tolerate increasing casualties in the war so long as there exists the "perception that the mission will succeed," Gelpi said.
He added that their findings were also "warmly received" by the John Kerry presidential campaign and other Democratic and Republican leaders.
Gelpi explained that the survey used by the researchers found that a majority of Americans will deem the war in Iraq successful if a stable democratic government is established, Iraqis are able to live "normal daily lives" and Iraqis provide for their own security.
"There are certain aspects of the 'Strategies for Victory' document and speech [Bush gave to the Naval Academy Nov. 30] that are consistent with our research," Gelpi said, citing Bush's logic for strategies on how to win approval of the American public.
According to a recent Newsweek poll, 65 percent of people interviewed were dissatisfied with the Bush administration's handling of the war.
Though the New York Times reported that Bush's Nov. 30 address, "Our National Strategy for Victory in Iraq," used the word "victory" 15 times, and attributed the speech's theme to Feaver's presence in the administration, Gelpi said he doubted Feaver would have equated "success," the research's conclusion, with "victory."
"I know that's not how he interprets our work," he said, adding that he has not communicated with Feaver in the past few months.
Despite the critics of the research who argue that as casualties mount, support of any war will decline regardless of the end result, Gelpi explained that records of polling from the Vietnam, Korean and Iraq war eras indicate that the conclusion is false.
"The record of public support shows that sometimes casualties are tolerated," he said.
Gelpi said that he hopes the national attention the research is receiving reflects well on the reputation of the University.
But he admitted that the way in which people interpret or use the findings is out of his hands.
"It can be a tricky thing to have research go so public because when you put an idea in the public debate you lose control of that idea," he said. "I can't control that, but I'm pleased to have the work be part of that debate."
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