World Class

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

"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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.

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. If you like what you hear, you can get additional content from scholars at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies by following us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and by subscribing to our newsletters and updates.