Merging the Life of the Mind and the Public’s Interest

Wherever geopolitical events have transpired and foreign policy has been formed in the past 30 years, Nelson Strobridge (Strobe) Talbott III has seemingly been there. As editor at large at Time magazine for 21 years, Mr. Talbott covered events in Asia and developed a special interest in Soviet affairs. The former Rhodes scholar and Russian-literature major translated and edited two volumes of memoirs by the former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev in the early 1970s, then went on to write or co-write five books on relations between the United States and the former Soviet Union or Russia.

He followed his journalism career with a stint in the State Department, where he served seven years as deputy secretary of state under his longtime friend, President Bill Clinton, and helped shape the administration’s policies on Russia.

Now, Mr. Talbott, 55, will carry his outward-looking ethos and policy-development skills to the nonprofit world. He will take the reins of the Brookings Institution, one of Washington’s most prominent public-policy think tanks, in September. He will replace Michael H. Armacost, who retires this summer.

Members of the Brookings Institution’s search committee say Mr. Talbott was chosen over 20 other candidates because of his scholarly background and his experience in forming policy and putting it into practice.

“The fact that Mr. Talbott knows the media very well was also a major factor in our decision,” says John L. Thornton, search committee chairman and president of Goldman Sachs Group, a financial-services company in New York.

Charged with managing a $34-million annual budget and a staff of 280, Mr. Talbott inherits a fiscally healthy organization with a reputation for providing independent review of big-ticket government policy matters, such as poverty and foreign affairs.

Mr. Talbott’s views have raised the ire of those on both ends of the political spectrum, which might aid his efforts to rise above the fray as head of a nonpartisan think tank. Conservatives and liberals have lambasted him for his views on Israel, Russia, and globalization. Mr. Talbott’s most recent job has been head of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, in New Haven, Conn.

In an interview, Mr. Talbott talked about his new role.

How has your experience in government prepared you for this post?

Brookings’s mission is to do clearheaded independent scholarly research that has utility in the world of policy. I’ve been in the world of policy for eight years, so I have some idea of what the impediments are to getting research to politicians. My experience gives me a deeper appreciation for the importance of independent ideas in governance.

In what direction do you think Brookings should be headed?

Well, it’s still very early on in the process. But I do see a continuing evolution, which means there’s no need to abruptly change things. I’ve followed the Brookings Institution since the mid-1970s. One of the terrific things is that it’s organic — it changes with the times. Maybe the most-important part of my job will be to work with and on behalf of the scholars so that the institution changes with the times and maintains the tradition of independent research. It’s a moving target. You have to keep up with it.

How will you do that?

The tendency and temptation is to divide the world up into separate sectors. The dividing line between economics and policy, for example, is more porous than ever. Economists need to understand politics and vice versa. Brookings has been breaking down those barriers for some time. But I suspect there will be more integration of the various research areas — foreign policy, public policy, and government policy — so each can reinforce the other.

How will you balance your fund-raising and policy-development roles?

With great skill, I hope. Right now, Brookings has an endowment that’s over $200-million. Still, two-thirds of our support is raised from outside the endowment. The president, obviously, is a big part of that process. I know the challenge and the territory. I’ve raised money for the Yale Center, and as a Yale board member.

How will you steer clear of ethical problems when you raise funds?

I don’t worry that we’ll accept money with ideological strings attached. I know there will be care taken so that no difficulties arise from that. The institution’s nonpartisan role is really the family jewels. The way to protect that is through an unmistakable emphasis on quality, and a key ingredient for that is independence. It’s my job to preserve that strength and build on it.

Given that you served in a Democratic administration, can you still claim to be nonpartisan?

I would certainly hope I’m a centrist. I’m not only proud of my government service, but I’m very grateful for it. It’s hard to imagine a more enriching experience than serving government for the two terms of a president. Nonetheless, I recognize and support the identity of Brookings. My approach to what I read, what I hear, is not to say, ‘Well, is that a Republican or Democratic position?’ but ‘Does that make sense?’ That’s what Brookings scholars bring to bear on issues. We do have scholars that could be identified as right or left, but since the cold war, the labels are beginning to look a little shopworn.

It’s been said that you and President Bush have a strained relationship. Is that true?

I’m puzzled by those reports about my relationship with President Bush. His negative comments are a puzzle to me. We never really knew each other. We were classmates at Yale, but I’m not sure we were in the same room more than three or four times. I bear no animus toward him.

A colleague and I wrote a book in 1993 about the senior George Bush’s policy on Russia. Over all, it’s a very favorable assessment of Bush. We credit him for doing an extremely skillful job of being Mikhail Gorbachev’s ground controller so the USSR didn’t come in for a crash landing.

It’s important to have strong ties with the White House. I’m very confident we’ll have positive connections with government. Many of our people have been around a long time and have their own ties.

Is the Brookings presidency a long-term commitment for you?

I see this as a long-term commitment. I’m 55, but I’m healthy and I have a lot of energy, and I intend to apply that energy to this institution. This is a dream job for me. While I’ve had a number of different careers, in all of them I’ve been most interested in the intersection of the life of the mind and public life — the intersection between thought and action, and particularly action in the form of policy. Bingo! Here I am at the Brookings Institution, where that’s what it’s all about.

ABOUT STROBE TALBOTT, PRESIDENT-ELECT OF THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

Education: Earned his bachelor’s degree in Russian literature from Yale University in 1968. Attended Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar; received a master’s degree from Oxford in 1971.

Previous employment: Now serves as director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, a research and teaching program started last year. Previously, he worked in the State Department in 1993 as a special adviser to Secretary of State Warren Christopher. He was named deputy secretary of state in 1994 and served in that post until 2001. Before entering government, Mr. Talbott spent 21 years as a journalist for Time magazine, including serving as editor at large.

Charitable interests: Serves on the board of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Trilateral Commission, a foreign-policy think tank. He and his wife give to Yale and Stanford Universities and to the Maret School, in Washington.

Hobbies: Enjoys playing classical guitar, reading biographies, and bicycling.