World Class

Abbas Milani is the Hamid and Christina Moghadam Director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University and a visiting professor in the department of political science. In addition, Dr. Milani is a research fellow and co-director of the Iran Democracy Project at the Hoover Institution.Michael McFaul is the host of World Class and director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University, where he is also the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. From 2009 to 2012, he worked as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council during the Obama administration, and from 2012 to 2014 served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation.

Michael McFaul is joined by:Oleksiy Honcharuk, who served as the 17th prime minister of Ukraine from 2019-2020, during which time he introduced important policy initiatives in Ukraine including the institution of business privatization processes, efforts to combat black markets, and the launch of the Anti-Raider Office to respond to cases of illegal property seizures. Prior to serving as prime minister, Honcharuk was deputy head of the Presidential Office of Ukraine and was a member of the National Reforms Council under the president of Ukraine. In 2021, he was the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).Serhiy Leshchenko, formerly a journalist with Ukrainska Pravda and member of Ukrainian Parliament (2014-2019). He first rose to political prominence during Ukraine’s 2014 Maidan Revolution, and has continued to serve in government and civil society since. He is an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff, working and living in the governmental bunkers during the start of Russia's invasion and siege on Kyiv in 2022. He is an alumnus of the 2013 cohort of the Draper Hills Summer Fellows program (now the Fisher Family Summer Fellows Program) at FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights advocate and founder of the Center for Civil Liberties, which was recognized as a co-recipient of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. The mission of the Center for Civil Liberties is to protect human rights and establish democracy in Ukraine and the OSCE region. The organization develops legislative proposals, exercises public oversight over law enforcement agencies and judiciary, conducts educational activities for young people, and implements international solidarity programs. Matviichuk was a visiting scholar from 2017-2018 with the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.Oleksandra Ustinova, who serves as the People's Deputy of Ukraine and a member of Ukraine’s parliament. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion in 2022, she has met repeatedly with lawmakers in the United States to advocate on behalf of Ukraine, including an address before the U.S. House of Representatives on February 28, 2022. Prior to her government service, Ustinova was the head of communications and anti-corruption in healthcare projects at the Anti-Corruption Action Center (ANTAC), one of the leading organizations on anti-corruption reform in Ukraine. She was a visiting scholar with the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law from 2018-2019.

When Academy Award-winning actor Sean Penn set off to make a documentary about Ukraine, he thought he would be telling the story of a comedic showman-turned president named Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the young democracy that had elected him. Instead, Penn found himself witnessing the start of a horrific war of aggression. Sean Penn joined Michael McFaul at Stanford University for a special screening of "Superpower," a film co-directed by Penn and Aaron Kaufman about the days leading up to and immediately following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. During their discussion, Penn shares what it was like to be an accidental witness to history, and the inspiration he continues to take from President Zelenskyy, Ukrainians, and their fight for freedom. Natalia Antelava, editor-in-chief of Coda Story and a John S. Knight Journalism fellow at Stanford, moderates the conversation.

To understand why the conflict in Gaza is so complex, you have to understand the history of Israel's relationship with Palestine and Hamas well before October 7, 2023. In this episode of World Class, we bring you a conversation with Ambassador Dennis Ross and Ghaith al-Omari, two experts on the Middle East, who help contextualize the current situation in Gaza, offer a framework for how to understand the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and share their thoughts on what it will take to bring stability to the region. Their discussion is moderated by Janine Zacharia, a lecturer in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. Ambassador Dennis Ross is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and teaches at Georgetown University’s Center for Jewish Civilization. For more than twelve years, Ambassador Ross played a leading role in shaping U.S. involvement in the Middle East peace process, dealing directly with the parties as the U.S. point man on the peace process in both the George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton administrations. Ghaith al-Omari, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship, is the former executive director of the American Task Force on Palestine. He served as advisor to the negotiating team during the 1999–2001 permanent-status talks in addition to holding various other positions within the Palestinian Authority.

Conflict between Hamas and Israel; the ongoing war in Ukraine; rising tensions between China and Taiwan; climate change; dissatisfaction with national politics. These are some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today. What do we need to understand better about these issues, and what can be done to address them? On this episode of World Class, host Michael McFaul brings you a conversation with four scholars from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies held during Stanford University's 2023 Reunion and Homecoming. Together they unpack what's at stake, how these challenges are related, and offer policy recommendations for how to solve them. Featuring: Michael McFaul, Director and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science; the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Marshall Burke, Deputy Director at the Center on Food Security and the Environment; an associate professor in the Doerr School of Sustainability, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Larry Diamond, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow of Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and a professor, by courtesy, of sociology and of political science. Didi Kuo, Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and associate director for research at its Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law. Amichai Magen, the inaugural Visiting Fellow in Israel Studies at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; In Israel, a senior lecturer (U.S. associate professor), head of the MA Program in Diplomacy & Conflict Studies, and director of the Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD) at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Reichman University.

In September 2023, Michael McFaul and political philosopher Francis Fukuyama traveled to Kyiv to participate in the Yalta European Strategy conference. They met with policymakers from Ukraine, Europe, and beyond; military experts; Ukrainian alumni of fellowship and development programs from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; and even President Zelenskyy himself. On World Class, they recap what stood out to them from their trip, what they learned, and the stories from everyday Ukrainians that have stuck with them.

Changes to the legal code. Massive protests from the public. Walk-outs by members of the legislature. What exactly is going on in Israel? Law and governance expert Amichai Magen joins World Class host Michael McFaul to discuss the growing crisis Israeli democracy faces. Magen gives context on the crisis, explains some of the cultural and institutional reasons that led Israel to this point, and offers his thoughts as to how Israel might move forward from here.

Featuring:Sauli Niinistö, President of FinlandMichael McFaul, Director of the Freeman Spogli InstituteAnna Grzymala-Busse, Director of The Europe CenterOriana Skylar Mastro, FSI Center Fellow and expert on the Chinese military and strategic competitionH.R. McMaster, retired lieutenant general and former U.S. National Security AdvisorSteven Pifer, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and European security expertRisto Siilasmaa, leader in Finnish technology and security policy and board member at NokiaAlex Stamos, Director of the Stanford Internet ObservatoryKathryn Stoner, Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law.

It's been a year since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Few people have had a closer view of the realities of that war than Sergiy Leshchenko, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief-of-staff and an alumnus of the Draper Hills Summer Fellows program at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He joins Michael McFaul on World Class to report on what a year of brutal fighting looks like from inside Ukraine, and shares what progress he hopes to see in the coming months as Ukraine continues it's fight to remain a sovereign, democratic state.

"Women, Life, and Freedom:" this phrase has become the rallying cry of tens of thousands of Iranians around the world. What began as protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman detained by Iran's strict morality police, has become a groundswell in Iran's society unlike anything since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. "Those three words [are] even more progressive than 'Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness,' because women are central to it. It has life. It has joy," says Dr. Abbas Milani, the director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University. He joins Michael McFaul on World Class to discuss what Dr. Milani calls the "seething volcano" of anger, disappointment, and frustration many in Iran feel towards the corruption, cronyism, and economic mismanagement the regime of Iran has perpetrated against its citizens. Could Mahsa Amini be the spark that sets off a democratic explosion? Milani and McFaul discuss what the latest calls for change might mean for the country, and how a democratic Iran could rewrite the calculus of the global geopolitical stage.

In this episode of World Class, we're bringing you a conversation from the 2022 Stanford Reunion. In this recording, you'll hear Michael McFaul and a panel of experts from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies discuss some of the biggest policy challenges of the moment — climate change, Russia and the war in Ukraine, China and Taiwan, and maintaining democracy at home and abroad. Each panelist will give their assessment of a challenge, then provide feedback on how policymakers are addressing it and what more can be done. Michael McFaul is the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia. Marshall Burke is the deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment and a senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Didi Kuo is a senior research scholar at the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule Law. Oriana Skylar Mastro is a center fellow at FSI, working primarily with the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the Center for International Security and Cooperation. Steven Pifer is a former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine and an affiliate at the Center for International Security and Cooperation.

As winter in Eastern Europe settles in, the Russian military continues to cede ground to advancing Ukrainian forces. The question many people are asking now is: “What happens next?” Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and political scientist Francis Fukuyama join Michael McFaul on World Class podcast to discuss Ukraine’s progress in the war so far and offer possible prognoses for the future.

While the world still watches the conflict in Ukraine, on the opposite side of the globe, the potential for conflict between Taiwan, China, and the United States is increasing. Will China forcibly try to reunify Taiwan with the mainland? And if they do, how will the United States respond? Larry Diamond, an scholar of Taiwan and Chinese sharp power, and Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on the Chinese military and security, join Michael McFaul on the World Class to discuss possible timelines for China’s ambitions against Taiwan, and how the U.S. and its allies can deter Beijing.

To launch our new season of World Class, we're bringing you a special extended interview with Michael McFaul and Ray Suarez of the World Affairs podcast about the changing conditions on the Ukrainian battlefield and the political situation inside Russia. Their conversation originally aired on World Affairs on September 23, 2022. Just before Putin's military order on September 21, 2022 mobilizing up to 300,000 additional troops from Russia to fight in Ukraine, former US Ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, spoke with Ray Suarez to give a sense of what we can expect from the war in Ukraine in the coming weeks and – perhaps – months, and how it's impacting Russia's international standing. For more from World Affairs, visit their website at — https://www.worldaffairs.org/index.php.

This is a special crossover episode of World Class and the World Affairs podcast, hosted by Ray Suarez. Michael McFaul, the director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, joins Ray as a guest to discuss what motivated Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine and how is his war changing the balance of power between Russia, the US, Europe and China. This episode was first published on March 7, 2022 by World Affairs. To learn more, please visit: https://www.worldaffairs.org/media/blog/951

Data clearly shows that extreme weather patterns like those seen across the globe in 2021 are driven by climate change. But is that fact driving policymakers to make meaningful inroads to address the climate crisis? Marshall Burke, the deputy director of the Center on Food Security and the Environment, joins Michael McFaul on World Class podcast to review the latest data on what’s happening with climate change in the field and in Congress.

There are plenty of glamorous Hollywood spies, but how does the world of real espionage and intelligence work? In her book Spies, Lies and Algorithms, national security and intelligence expert Amy Zegart separates facts from fictions about the U.S. intelligence community. She joins FSI Director Michael McFaul on World Class to trace the history of intelligence in America and unpacks the challenges intelligence organizations need to address in an increasingly digital world.

The situation on the Ukraine-Russia border continues to change, but the ideological fight between democracy and autocracy is as hot as ever. Former prime minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk joins Michael McFaul to give an inside view on the Ukraine-Russia conflict and discuss the bigger strategy Putin is using to undermine democracy in Eastern Europe and beyond.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman joins Michael McFaul on World Class to discuss why values and integrity are crucial to upholding democratic norms here in the United States, and why democracies everywhere should support and encourage those norms in places like Ukraine. His testimony before Congress was key part of President Trump's first impeachment trial in 2019 over his phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He shares his story of becoming an unexpected public figure, and the life experiences that guided his decisions in his book, Here, Right Matters.

Taiwan. Hypersonic missiles. The South China Sea. In the last few months, China’s activities have grabbed headlines and imaginations. But how much of this action is posturing, and how much should U.S. policymakers and strategists take seriously? Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on China's military and strategic planning and active member of the United States Air Force Reserve, rejoins Michael McFaul on World Class to debunk some of the myths that persist about China’s capabilities and reframe how the U.S. needs to think about strategic competition with Beijing.