Society

FSI researchers work to understand continuity and change in societies as they confront their problems and opportunities. This includes the implications of migration and human trafficking. What happens to a society when young girls exit the sex trade? How do groups moving between locations impact societies, economies, self-identity and citizenship? What are the ethnic challenges faced by an increasingly diverse European Union? From a policy perspective, scholars also work to investigate the consequences of security-related measures for society and its values.

The Europe Center reflects much of FSI’s agenda of investigating societies, serving as a forum for experts to research the cultures, religions and people of Europe. The Center sponsors several seminars and lectures, as well as visiting scholars.

Societal research also addresses issues of demography and aging, such as the social and economic challenges of providing health care for an aging population. How do older adults make decisions, and what societal tools need to be in place to ensure the resulting decisions are well-informed? FSI regularly brings in international scholars to look at these issues. They discuss how adults care for their older parents in rural China as well as the economic aspects of aging populations in China and India.

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In the immediate aftermath of the Helsinki Summit, FSI's Eileen Donahoe joins Sen. Marco Rubio; Sen. Mark Warner; Damian Colllins, the MP for Folkestone & Hythe and Chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee; and former Ukrainian Minister for Finance Natalie Jaresko, in a discussion about how to #stopmeddling in democratic elections. 

 


Today, while the President of the United States challenged the US intelligence agencies’ conclusion on Russia’s interference in 2016 election, the Atlantic Council and the Alliance of Democracies organized a series of conversations on “Kremlin’s Interference in Elections.”

Eileen Donahoe, Executive Director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University was among the speakers. She called the meeting of transatlantic parliamentarians, an "important show of transatlantic support for democracy and recognition that we need to take election integrity seriously!"

 

To discover their sessions on #electionintegrity and to learn about how we can better #DefendDemocracy, check out the Atlantic Council's webcast of the event here.

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Encina Hall, C147 616 Jane Stanford Way Stanford, CA 94305-6055
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CDDRL Predoctoral Fellow, 2018-20
Fellow, Program on Democracy and the Internet, 2018-20
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​I am a Junior Fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. Starting in 2023, I will be an Assistant Professor at Harvard Business School's Business, Government and the International Economy (BGIE) unit.

My research examines political extremism, destigmatization, and radicalization, focusing on the role of popularity cues in online media. My related research examines a broad range of threats to democratic governance, including authoritarian encroachment, ethnic prejudice in public goods allocation, and misinformation. 

​My dissertation won APSA's Ernst B. Haas Award for the best dissertation on European Politics. I am currently working on my book project, Engineering Extremism, with generous funding from the William F. Milton Fund at Harvard.

My published work has appeared in the American Political Science Review,  Governance,  International Studies QuarterlyPublic Administration Review, and the Virginia Journal of International Law, along with an edited volume in Democratization (Oxford University Press). My research has been featured in KQED/NPRThe Washington Post, and VICE News.

I received my Ph.D. in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley in 2020. I was a Predoctoral Research Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford University and the Stanford Program on Democracy and the Internet. I hold a B.A. (Magna Cum Laude; Phi Beta Kappa) from Cornell University and an M.A. (with Distinction) from the University of California, Berkeley.

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Andray Abrahamian will be the 2018-19 Koret Fellow in the Korea Program at Stanford’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). Abrahamian has been Executive Director and Director of Research for Choson Exchange, a non-profit that has trained over 2000 North Koreans in entrepreneurship and economic policy since 2010. His work for Choson Exchange and other projects has taken him to North Korea 30 times. He has also lived in Myanmar, allowing him the ability to conduct field research for his new book, North Korea and Myanmar: Divergent Paths (2018, McFarland). Divergent Paths asks how Myanmar came to end its isolation, while North Korea has yet not. 

“When it comes to North Korea, Dr. Abrahamian has been very active both as an academic and on the ground. He has genuine hands-on experience of working with North Koreans from his numerous trips to the country. In this important period of flux for North Korea’s place on the world stage, we welcome Dr. Abrahamian as 2018-19 Koret Fellow, and look forward to his meaningful contributions to our activities.” “His experience and understanding of North Korea will be a great asset to our program,” Gi-Wook Shin, director of APARC said.

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As the 2018-19 Koret Fellow, Abrahamian will research the economic relations of North Korea during changing geopolitical conditions as well as entrepreneurship in North Korea as it relates to communities of Koreans abroad. He also plans to write a general readership book that explains contemporary North Korean society. While at Stanford, he will teach a course on contemporary North Korean society and engage in public talks and conferences on Korea issues. During his fellowship, Abrahamian will also help organize the Koret Workshop, an international conference held annually at Stanford University.

Abrahamian is an Honorary Fellow at Macquarie University, Sydney, and an Adjunct Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute. He is a frequent contributor to 38North.org, a website focused on North Korea analysis, and is a member of the US National Committee on North Korea. Andray holds a PhD from the University of Ulsan and an MA from the University of Sussex in International Relations. He has taught courses at Yangon University and Ulsan University. 

Supported by the Koret Foundation, the fellowship brings leading professionals to Stanford to conduct research on contemporary Korean affairs with the broad aim of strengthening ties between the United States and Korea.

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Description:

The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University (FSI) brings you an expert panel discussion in Washington, DC:

North Korea: Now What?
Stanford experts on the challenges ahead

 

Panelists:
Scott Sagan: FSI senior fellow and international security expert
Gi-Wook Shin: FSI senior fellow and director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Kathleen Stephens: William J. Perry Fellow and former US ambassador to South Korea

Moderated by Amb. Michael McFaul, FSI Director

 

Schedule

4:30 PM: Light reception
5:15 PM: Panel discussion begins

This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited. You must register to attend.

Contact us at fsi-communications@stanford.edu with questions.

 

National Press Club

529 14th Street Northwest

Conference Rooms

Washington, DC 20045
 

Scott Sagan FSI senior fellow and international security expert Panelist Center for International Security and Cooperation
Gi-Wook Shin FSI senior fellow and director of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center Panelist Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Kathleen Stephens William J. Perry Fellow and former US ambassador to South Korea Panelist Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Michael McFaul FSI Director and former US ambassador to Russia Moderator Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Panel Discussions
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The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University is very pleased to announce that Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster, US Army (Ret.), has been appointed the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Visiting Fellow at FSI effective September 1, 2018. 

McMaster will also hold the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellowship at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and serve as a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in management.

“H.R. McMaster is a soldier-scholar who has seen war from every angle -- on the hot battlefield and through the cold judgment of history. Few officers ever serve their country in the highest levels of government. Fewer still have done so while getting a Ph.D. and writing an influential book about civil-military relations,” says Amy Zegart, a senior fellow and co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation at FSI. “He will bring a deep well of expertise and experience to the Hoover and Stanford communities. We are thrilled to be welcoming him back to the Farm.”

H.R. McMaster served in the United States Army for 34 years before his recent retirement in June 2018. Until recently, he also was the 26th Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

Alongside his military career, he earned a Ph.D. in American history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1996. He has published essays, articles, and book reviews on history, the future of warfare, and leadership in numerous publications including, but not limited to, Foreign Affairs, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. 

His seminal work is his book Dereliction of Duty: Lyndon Johnson, Robert McNamara, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Lies that Led to Vietnam, published in 1997 and subsequently a New York Times bestseller.

In recent years he has been voted one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and Fortune’s “50 World’s Greatest Leaders”.

“I am delighted to welcome H.R. McMaster back to the Stanford community,” says FSI director Michael McFaul. “In addition to his insights regarding national security strategy for the academic and policy worlds, we look forward to his contributions to the education and training of future foreign policy leaders from Stanford University.”

 

 

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Gender inequality in the workplace is still a reality and an issue that must be tackled head-on in Silicon Valley and Japan. In 2017, the World Economic Forum reported for the first time in 10 years, a widening of the global gender gap. Numerous efforts to break this cycle have been announced and implemented to varying degrees of success in both countries making it clear that we must do more, together.

While women in the United States comprise 59% of the total workforce, they only make up 30% of major technology companies and only 11% of the executive positions in Silicon Valley are held by women. An industry that prides itself on innovative thinking and breakthroughs that can fundamentally improve quality of life has yet to find its way to disrupt gender inequality in its ranks. In recent years, Silicon Valley has been rocked by a number of high-profile sexual discrimination and harassment cases. In 2016, women tech leaders created the “Elephant in the Valley” survey to gather data on women’s experiences. The result was a bleak picture of Silicon Valley’s pervasive gender discrimination atmosphere but also the creation of a platform for women to share stories and build networks of support and activism based on shared experience.

As Japan faces a shrinking and aging population, it must pursue productivity growth to remain a wealthy nation. Women, long underutilized in Japan’s workforce, are receiving renewed attention with the Abe administration’s slogan of Womenomics as part of his Abenomics economic reform package. This political pledge has yielded some momentum with a number of concrete policy measures. Prime Minister Abe has even gone so far as to say “Abenomics is Womenomics.” There is still progress to be made. The Acceleration Program in Tokyo for Women (APT), spearheaded by Governor Yuriko Koike, the first female governor of Tokyo, aims to counter this narrative by providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs to build networks, receive mentoring, and become a focal point for dynamism.

The Break Through conference aims to create a dialogue that will spark innovative ideas for narrowing the gender gap by bringing together women thought leaders and entrepreneurs from Stanford, Silicon Valley and Japan to cultivate interpersonal support networks and collaboration.

This conference will:

  • Provide tools for branding and building support networks
  • Discuss progress and challenges in women’s advancement in Silicon Valley and Japan
  • Share practices and organizational features that better enable the hiring and retaining of women
  • Showcase Silicon Valley and Japanese women entrepreneurs

This conference is organized by Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (S-APARC) Japan Program thanks to the generous support of the Acceleration Program in Tokyo for Women (APT), Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

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Agenda

9:30-10:00       Registration

10:00-10:05     Opening & Welcome Remarks

10:05-10:35     Women Entrepreneurs in the United States

- Judy Gilbert, Chief People Officer, Zymergen   

10:35-11:00     Womenomics in Japan

- Yuko Osaki, Gender Equality Bureau, Cabinet Office, Japanese Government              

11:00-11:30     Fireside Chat 1

- Yoky Matsuoka, Chief Technology Officer, Nest

with Frances Colón, CEO, Jasperi Consulting

11:30-12:00     Fireside Chat 2

- Claire Chino, President & CEO, Itochu International Inc.

with Haruko Sasamoto, Assistant Manager Silicon Valley Branch, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)

12:00-13:00     Lunch

13:00-14:00     Start-up Showcase Group 1 (5 Japanese Startups)

14:00-14:15     Break

14:15-15:15     Start-up Showcase Group 2 (5 Silicon Valley Startups)

Feedback for both showcases given by:

- Allison Baum, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Fresco Capital

- Atsuko Jenks, Managing Direction-Japan, GSV Labs

- Jaclyn Selby, Research Scholar, Stanford University

15:15-16:15     Workshop: Leveraging Your Personal Brand to Effectively Lead

How others—from team members to board members—perceive you directly affects your ability to effectively lead and get results. For this reason, and especially for women entrepreneurs, it is crucial to understand your personal brand and carefully manage it. In this hands-on workshop, we will use Design Thinking as a framework to help you identify your strengths, skills and unique differentiators and how to effectively communicate these in your work environment.

Workshop Facilitator:

- Sylvia Vaquer, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, SocioFabrica

16:15     Closing Remarks 

 

Arrillaga Alumni Center, McCaw Hall

326 Galvez Street, Stanford, CA

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The Korea Program invites junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and graduate students to apply for travel awards to attend an upcoming two-day conference organized by the Korea Program at Stanford' Asia-Pacific Research Center. The workshop titled "Future Visions: Challanges and Possibilities of Korean Studies in North America" will be held on November 1st and 2nd, 2018 at Stanford University.

The awards will cover accepted applicants' lodging, domestic airfares, and/or ground transportation. To apply for the travel awards, please submit your CV and 2-page statement as a single file by July 15 here.

About the conference:

“Future Visions: Challenges and Possibilities of Korean Studies in North America,” is designed to bring together leading scholars in the fields of language education, literature, history, social sciences, and library studies. Each panel will consist of three-four scholars who will be tasked with presenting a report on the state of the field. The purpose of the panels is to generate discussion around some of the following questions: 

  • What are the research trends in each field?
  • What kinds of directions can we expect in the near future?
  • What are some of the disciplinary or other challenges in each field?
  • How does each field interact with related fields?
  • What are some of the limitations and possibilities around graduate student training?
  • How can faculty with graduate students cultivate supportive and critical scholarly communities?
  • ​How are junior faculty encouraged, and what institutional structures may offer better support?

Accepted applicants are expected to actively participate in discussion sessions and to engage in networking with other scholars during the 2-day conference.

Please direct questions on the conference to hjahn@stanford.edu.

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During the 2017–18 academic year, SPICE’s Jonas Edman worked with six community college instructors from Las Positas College and Foothill College on their plans for integrating global issues into their classrooms. These six instructors were among ten Education Partnership for Internationalizing Curriculum (EPIC) Fellows to work collaboratively with colleagues at Stanford on projects aimed at internationalizing course curricula and producing innovative curricular materials for use in community college classrooms.

On May 19, 2018, an EPIC Symposium, “Integrating Global Issues into Community College Curricula,” was held at Stanford University that featured presentations by the EPIC Fellows as well as presentations from Stanford faculty. Community college faculty and administrators from across California gathered at Stanford University to discuss ways to prepare students for a world that is increasingly interconnected.

The six EPIC Fellows, with whom Edman worked, and their presentation topics are:

  • Brian Evans, Foothill College: The Latin American Lost Decade
  • Ann Hight, Las Positas College: Using Global Lifestyles as a Platform to Teach Gene Expression and Longevity
  • Natasha Mancuso, Foothill College: Using Online Games to Teach Business and Marketing from a Global Perspective
  • Kali Rippel, Las Positas College: Internationalizing the Research Project Using Wikipedia
  • Colin Schatz, Las Positas College: Globalized and Inclusive: Redesigning a Community College Honors Program
  • Antonella Vitale, Las Positas College: Global Voices in American History

Since 2010, Stanford Global Studies (SGS) has partnered with community colleges through innovative projects such as the Stanford Human Rights Education Initiative (SHREI) and EPIC to bring together faculty and administrators committed to developing global and international studies. Fellows join a growing network of EPIC alumni from across the state who are developing innovative programs to internationalize curricula. SPICE as well as Stanford’s Lacuna Stories have been working with SGS National Resource Centers—Center for East Asian Studies, Center for Latin American Studies, Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies—on these efforts.

 

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2017–18 EPIC Fellows Colin Schatz, Antonella Vitale, and Kali Rippel (Las Positas College) with SPICE Director Gary Mukai
2017–18 EPIC Fellows Colin Schatz, Antonella Vitale, and Kali Rippel (Las Positas College) with SPICE Director Gary Mukai
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On May 24, Shorenstein APARC hosted the final three research presentations by this year’s Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows. What had been months in preparation was at last over; any indications of nervousness or anxiety now gave way to jubilant smiles and celebratory thumbs-ups for cameras. The journey that began for many nearly a year ago had come to a successful end.

Established in 1982, the Corporate Affiliates Program introduces personnel of Asian organizations that have become APARC corporate affiliates to American life and institutions. Over the span of a year, Corporate Affiliate Visiting Fellows have the opportunity to immerse in daily interaction with specialists, students, and scholars from Stanford and abroad. In turn, the practical experience and international perspectives that Visiting Fellows bring with them enrich and inform intellectual exchange at both Shorenstein APARC and Stanford at large. 

The 2017-2018 Visiting Fellows came to APARC from 14 different organizations including government agencies, state-owned enterprises, and private sector industry corporations from four countries: China, India, Japan, and Korea.

 

Academic Engagement

Group Photo 2The Corporate Affiliates Program is ideal for mid-career professionals looking to expand their knowledge and international experience. Visiting Fellows participate in a structured, yet individualized year of academic exploration. Elements of the program include creating individual research projects, auditing classes, attending exclusive seminars, and visiting local companies and institutions.

Following summer intensives and orientation, Visiting Fellows embark on their nine-month research projects under the guidance of an APARC faculty advisor. Fellows are matched with an advisor based on the research project subject and/or their professional background and region of employment.

“The best thing about this program is that I have one entire year to focus and to manage my own time,” observed a previous Visiting Fellow.

The months of thorough research culminate in a paper and its public presentation. Fellows present their research findings before an audience of APARC faculty and researchers, Stanford community members, and their “fellow Fellows.” Over the course of five days in May, audiences heard presentations on a wide variety of subjects ranging from the impact of U.S. Supreme Court decisions on the AI Industry to regulatory requirements for bio-similar products, and from the role of large industries in Urban Air Transport to the benefits of shifting a government’s focus from economic growth to people’s happiness.

Presentations were well received by APARC faculty, though not before standing up to the rigorous follow-up questions from a highly engaged audience.

 

University Enrichment

For Corporate Affiliates, the year was not exclusively about their research. Fellows found ample opportunities to take advantage of non-academic pursuits, both on-campus and in the greater Bay Area.

Group Photo 3One way to further encourage exploration was a team-based activity designed by the program. Fellows were broken up into groups of five, each tasked with coordinating an excursion to take the rest on. Facilitated trips included a hike to Stanford’s famous radio telescope (“the Dish”), an exploration of the Berkeley neighborhood and its local industries, and a visit to NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field.

Stanford Jazz OrchestraIn addition to their professional experiences, Fellows also enriched the Center and university community through their personal pursuits. Takahito Inoshita, for example, brought his musical talent to Stanford along with an extensive experience in engineering. While researching how cities could identify policy needs via natural language data, he also performed with the Stanford Jazz Orchestra as lead trombonist at a November performance at Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall.

Next year’s Visiting Fellows are scheduled to begin arriving in mid-June, and include personnel from government, SOEs and private industries, but also the military and non-profit sector as well. For now, however, the Center is still saying goodbye to the 2017-2018 Fellows as they leave to join a distinguished, ever-growing alumni network of government and private sector professionals throughout Asia.

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