2022 Michael McFaul Headshot

Michael A. McFaul, PhD

  • Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
  • Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, Department of Political Science
  • Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution

Encina Hall
616 Jane Stanford Way
Stanford, CA 94305-6055

Biography

Michael McFaul is Director at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, 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. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995.

Dr. McFaul also is as an International Affairs Analyst for NBC News and a columnist for The Washington Post. He served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014).

He has authored several books, most recently the New York Times bestseller From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia. Earlier books include Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; Transitions To Democracy: A Comparative Perspective (eds. with Kathryn Stoner); Power and Purpose: American Policy toward Russia after the Cold War (with James Goldgeier); and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.

His current research interests include American foreign policy, great power relations, and the relationship between democracy and development. Dr. McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and his M.A. in Soviet and East European Studies from Stanford University in 1986. As a Rhodes Scholar, he completed his D. Phil. in International Relations at Oxford University in 1991. He is currently writing a book on great power relations in the 21st century.

 

 

publications

Testimonies
February 2022

Defending U.S. Allies and Interests Against Russian Aggression in Eastern Europe

Author(s)
Defending U.S. Allies and Interests Against Russian Aggression in Eastern Europe
Journal Articles
October 2021

Russia’s Road to Autocracy

Author(s)
Russia’s Road to Autocracy
Working Papers
July 2014

Creating a Civil Society Marketplace (CSM): Knowledge, Training, Resources

Author(s)
Creating a Civil Society Marketplace (CSM): Knowledge, Training, Resources

Current research

In The News

A passerby looks at thousands of miniature Ukrainian flags displayed in memorial in downtown Kyiv.
Commentary

What a Year of War Looks Like from Inside Ukraine

Former Draper Hills Summer Fellow Sergiy Leshchenko joins Michael McFaul on World Class from Kyiv, where he describes what the country looks like after a year of brutal fighting and shares what progress he hopes to see in the coming year.
What a Year of War Looks Like from Inside Ukraine
Women protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish women who died in the custody of Iranian police.
Commentary

The Future of Women, Life, and Freedom in Iran

The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran has ignited protests unlike anything seen in the country since the 1970s and might be the spark that finally lights the way for democratic reforms, Dr. Abbas Milani tells Michael McFaul on the World Class Podcast.
The Future of Women, Life, and Freedom in Iran
Ukrainian forces test drive a repaired Russian tank in the Kharkiv region on September 26 2022.
Commentary

The War in Ukraine Will Continue to Evolve. Here's How.

Steven Pifer and Francis Fukuyama join Michael McFaul on the World Class podcast to discuss Ukraine’s progress in the war, Crimea’s strategic importance, and the ongoing need for Western support in the conflict.
The War in Ukraine Will Continue to Evolve. Here's How.
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