McFaul's March 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!
Dear friends and colleagues,
We had another fantastic month here at FSI!
Early in March, we hosted H.E. President Sauli Niinistö of Finland and his delegation for a conversation on Finland’s role in defense and security cooperation in Europe and beyond. The panel featured an incredible group of my colleagues – experts from FSI’s many centers. Such diverse expertise allowed us to discuss the rise of China, Finland’s unique relationship with Russia, and the shifting landscape of cybersecurity and digital defenses against information warfare and propaganda attacks. President Niinistö was even taking notes! You can watch the recording here or read about the event here. And just a few weeks after our session, Finland joined NATO!
As most of you know, many of us at FSI, myself included, have been doing what we can to educate our community, country, and the world about the war of Putin’s Russia in Ukraine, and offer concrete policy recommendations for how to move forward effectively.
In line with our mission, in March, we brought together 30 scholars, economists, government officials, NGO leaders, and members of the business community for a 13-hour-long workshop to exchange and discuss concrete ideas on how to rebuild, reimagine, and accelerate Ukraine. More than half of our speakers were Ukrainians, who joined us from Kyiv via Zoom, including Mustafa Nayyem – the head of Ukraine’s State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development. It was an incredibly productive Friday!
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 “Putinologists,” offered reflections on the historic Xi-Putin summit, talked about the importance of paying attention to protests in Georgia, shared my thoughts on whether all Russians are guilty for the Russia’s war in Ukraine, and discussed the closeness of Xi-Putin “dear friendship.” These days, I am publishing more on Substack.
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, the smartest person on Iran I know.
On NBC this month, I commented on Putin’s indictment by the International Criminal Court (ICC), discussed implications of the Russian fighter jet colliding with the U.S. drone, and highlighted how Putin was carelessly slaughtering his own people.
I also appeared on World Affairs podcast to discuss how Ukrainians can break through and The Axe Files podcast to talk about how much time Ukraine has to turn the tide of the war. Lastly, in March, I visited the University of Chicago to speak at the 2023 Hagel Lecture. It was a real honor. Together with the former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, we talked about Russia’s war, the reverberations created by war, and what remains at stake for Ukraine and liberal democracies globally.
Beyond speaking and writing (and trying to finish my book: you can see a preview of the Table of Contents here), this quarter I will be teaching two classes at Stanford: a seminar on Great Power Relations in the 21st 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 and remain in close contact with my Ukrainian colleagues. In fact, this month, I hosted a dear friend and colleague, Sevgil Musaieva – editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda (and one of the most important journalists in Ukraine today), for a brief visit to Stanford
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 follow me on Twitter at @McFaul. I hope you join us here at FSI and Stanford for the amazing events like the ones we had this month!
Keep in touch,
Mike
It makes me tired just READING about all your work. I wish I had your energy. But keep up the great work. You are doing so much good for this world 🌎
Grateful for your efforts and those of your colleagues here and in Ukraine to inform/educate us. I'm also interested to hear more about Macron and the bigger picture out of his China trip (with von der Leyen, we cannot forget).