"What is different today is the speed and extraterritorial reach of disinformation. Over-restriction on content undermines our democratic values, but understanding the mechanisms of manipulation opens up the solutions." Our Eileen Donahoe, Executive Director of CDDRL's Global Digital Policy Incubator, said in the podcast "Digital Media: Combatting Threats in the Era of Fake News." Listen here.

To recognize his exceptional contributions to political science, FSI Director Michael McFaul has been named the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, effective June 14, 2018.

“As a scholar here at Stanford and in the policy realm in Washington, DC, Mike has shown exceptional leadership,” said Ann Arvin, Stanford University’s vice provost and dean of research.

As a Stanford student, McFaul was mentored by the original Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies, Coit “Chip” Blacker. Following in his mentor’s footsteps, McFaul also split his time between Stanford and the White House.

McFaul received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Stanford in 1986. After completing a PhD in international relations at Oxford University, he joined Stanford’s faculty in 1995 as an assistant professor in political science. In 2009, he lent his expertise in Russian affairs to the Obama administration, first as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs at the National Security Council, then as U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014. He returned to Stanford as director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) and the Peter and Helen Bing senior fellow at the Hoover Institution.

“Mike’s distinction as a scholar of international affairs together with his experience as an ambassador to Moscow make him the perfect choice for this chair,” said Richard Saller, dean of Stanford’s School of Humanities and Sciences, which oversees the political science department.

McFaul’s new appointment as chair was approved by the Stanford Advisory Board of the Academic Council and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne. It was made possible through the generosity of Kenneth E. Olivier and Angela Nomellini.

“Ken and Angela have been close partners in our success at FSI and in the work being done across Stanford,” said McFaul. “Their support for our initiatives, this chair, and the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellowship, now held by Francis Fukuyama, have been instrumental in supporting FSI’s research, teaching and policy. I am deeply honored to be named the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies.”

Olivier is a member of the Stanford Board of Trustees and the FSI Council. He graduated from Stanford in 1974 and is the former chairman and CEO of Dodge & Cox.

Nomellini is the former chair and a current member of the Stanford Graduate School of Education Advisory Council. She graduated from Stanford in 1975.

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.

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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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.

On May 30, Congressional Representative Steve Russell spoke to Stanford students enrolled in Technology and Security (MS&E 193/293) about the role of Congress in national security.