McFaul's April 2023 Newsletter

My most recent projects and publications

Dear friends and colleagues,

Since I left the government in 2014, I have been writing a monthly newsletter sharing my activities and publications. Here is the one I wrote for February 2023! As always, I welcome your feedback!

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We had another active month here at FSI!

Early in April, we hosted the delegation of the President of Colombia Gustavo Petro. In his address to the Stanford community, President Petro discussed the importance of climate change, and urged the world’s nations to transition to cleaner and greener energy. This event was largely student-driven and aimed to foster greater engagement of Stanford’s community with Latin America.

Address of President of Colombia Gustavo Petro to the Stanford community

As most of you know, many of us at FSI have been doing what we can to educate our community, country, and the world about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and offer concrete policy recommendations for how to move forward effectively. In my talk, I explain the Causes and Consequences of Putin's Invasion of Ukraine. If you’re interested in understanding why Putin invaded Ukraine and my take on how the war might end, check it out here.

As per usual, this month I wrote a lot and spoke a lot to try to help end this war. I wrote a piece on how Putin’s Arrest of Gershkovich Will Deter Foreign Journalists from Working in Russia, how Documents Stamped “Top Secret” Are Not Always Accurate, and how we must Transfer the Seized Assets of the Russian Central Bank to Ukraine Now. I also commented on the Tragic and Pathetic Evolution of Sergey Lavrov, following his remarks at the UN Security Council meeting. These days, I am publishing more on Substack, McFaul’s World. Sign up!

I also co-authored an op-ed in Foreign Policy on “How China’s Saudi-Iran Dear Can Serve U.S. Interests” with my friend and colleague, Abbas Milani, who is the smartest person on Iran I know.

On NBC this month, I further emphasized that Gershkovich’s release will be decided politically and not according to the rule of law, commented on Putin’s indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC), and assured that the alleged drone attack on the Kremlin was not an assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin. I also hypothesized that the leader of Russian paramilitary The Wagner Group – Yevgeny Prigozhin – may be posturing for his political future.

Interview with MSNBC

This month, I also participated in two conferences, one at the University of Chicago and one here at Stanford. I visited the University of Chicago to speak at the 2023 Hagel Lecture. It was a real honor to share a panel with former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and discuss Russia’s war, the reverberations created by the war, and what remains at stake for Ukraine and liberal democracies globally. At Stanford, I attended and spoke at the conference on Iran to better understand Iran’s possible transition to democracy.

Beyond speaking and writing (and trying to finish my book: you can see a preview of the Table of Contents here), this quarter I have been teaching two classes at Stanford: a seminar on Great Power Relations in the 21^st Century and a lecture course on Defending Democracy at Home and Abroad. The latter is a course offered to both Stanford students and the community online. If you want to join us, please do.

Additionally, I continue to coordinate the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions. This month, our working group released an important paper, outlining how to further strengthen sanctions against Russia. We called it Action Plan 2.0. We are always looking for new ideas. If you have any, please share!

To stay updated on events, opportunities, and policy recommendations by scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, please sign up for FSI email blasts and follow us on LinkedIn. As always, feel free to share your comments on the content below and any suggestions for improving this newsletter. To sign up for the newsletter, please click here. And if you don’t already, follow me on Twitter at @McFaul. And join me on Substack at McFaul’s World!

Keep in touch,
Mike