Michael McFaul
Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies and Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, at the Freeman Spogli Institute and at the Woods Institute
Political Science
Bio
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.. 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.
Academic Appointments
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Professor, Political Science
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Hoover Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution
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Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
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Senior Fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment
Administrative Appointments
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Chair, Curriculum Committee, Department of Political Science (2001 - 2004)
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Director of Undergraduate Studies, Department of Political Science (2001 - 2004)
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Co-director, Iran Democracy Project, Hoover Institution (2003 - 2009)
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Director, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (2006 - 2009)
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Deputy Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (2006 - 2009)
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Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (2015 - Present)
Program Affiliations
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Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies (CREEES)
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Program in International Relations
Professional Education
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Ph.D., Oxford University, International Relations (1991)
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M.A., Stanford University, Russian and East European Studies (1986)
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B.A., Stanford University, International Relations and Slavic Languages (1986)
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
American foreign policy, great power relations, comparative autocracies, and the relationship between democracy and development.
2024-25 Courses
- A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
POLISCI 312, REES 219 (Spr) -
Independent Studies (8)
- Directed Reading
INTLPOL 299 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Reading and Research in Comparative Politics
POLISCI 249 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in Comparative Politics
POLISCI 349 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in International Relations
POLISCI 219 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in International Relations
POLISCI 319 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in Political Theory
POLISCI 239 (Spr) - Directed Reading and Research in Political Theory
POLISCI 339 (Spr) - Graduate Directed Reading
EASTASN 300 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Reading
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
INTLPOL 211 (Win) - A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
OSPBEIJ 40 (Spr) - A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
POLISCI 312, REES 219 (Win)
2022-23 Courses
- A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
INTLPOL 211, POLISCI 312, REES 219 (Spr) - Defending Democracy at Home and Abroad
POLISCI 62 (Spr)
2021-22 Courses
- A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
INTLPOL 211, POLISCI 212, REES 219 (Spr) - Political Mobilization and Democratic Breakthroughs
INTLPOL 218, POLISCI 242G, POLISCI 342G (Win)
- A New Cold War? Great Power Relations in the 21st Century
All Publications
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Why Putin Invaded Ukraine
WAR IN UKRAINE
2024: 34-54
View details for Web of Science ID 001205695600003
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WHAT PUTIN FEARS MOST
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2022; 33 (2): 18-27
View details for DOI 10.1353/jod.2022.0015
View details for Web of Science ID 000819939400002
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RUSSIA'S ROAD TO AUTOCRACY
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2021; 32 (4): 11-26
View details for Web of Science ID 000709122700002
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The Power of Putin in Russian Foreign Policy
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
2021; 46 (1): 196-200
View details for DOI 10.1162/isec_c_00414
View details for Web of Science ID 000674379900002
- Pragmatic Idealism in U.S. Foreign Policy: Lessons from the Cold War for Dealing with China, Russia, and Iran Today (forthcoming) 2021
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Cold War Lessons and Fallacies for US-China Relations Today
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2020; 43 (4): 7–39
View details for DOI 10.1080/0163660X.2020.1850406
View details for Web of Science ID 000597344200001
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Is Putinism the Russian Norm or an Aberration?
CURRENT HISTORY
2018; 117 (801): 251–57
View details for Web of Science ID 000455969600001
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Russia as It Is A Grand Strategy for Confronting Putin
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
2018; 97 (4): 82–91
View details for Web of Science ID 000434904900010
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Choosing Autocracy: Actors, Institutions, and Revolution in the Erosion of Russian Democracy
COMPARATIVE POLITICS
2018; 50 (3): 305-+
View details for Web of Science ID 000429396000002
- From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2018
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Reading Reagan in Tehran: A Strategy of Realistic Engagement
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2016; 39 (4): 145-163
View details for DOI 10.1080/0163660X.2016.1264063
View details for Web of Science ID 000390698600008
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Who Lost Russia (This Time)? Vladimir Putin
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2015; 38 (2): 167-187
View details for DOI 10.1080/0163660X.2015.1064716
View details for Web of Science ID 000359943200001
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Moscow's Choice
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
2014; 93 (6): 167–71
View details for Web of Science ID 000343355100026
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Introduction: American and European Strategies to Promote Democracy - Shared Values, Common Challenges, Divergent Tools?
PROMOTING DEMOCRACY AND THE RULE OF LAW: AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN STRATEGIES
2009: 1–33
View details for Web of Science ID 000284895100002
- Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should and How We Can Roman & Littlefield. 2009
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The myth of the authoritarian model - How Putin's crackdown holds Russia back
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
2008; 87 (1): 68-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000252669600005
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The limits of limited reforms
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2008; 19 (1): 19-33
View details for Web of Science ID 000257925600002
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Ukraine imports democracy - External influences on the orange revolutione
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
2007; 32 (2): 45-83
View details for Web of Science ID 000250558100002
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Electing to flight: Why emerging democracies go to war. (Book Review)
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2007; 18 (2): 160-167
View details for Web of Science ID 000245729000016
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Constructing self-enforcing federalism in the early United States and modern Russia
PUBLIUS-THE JOURNAL OF FEDERALISM
2007; 37 (2): 160-189
View details for DOI 10.1093/publius/pjm002
View details for Web of Science ID 000246588900002
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Virtual politics: Faking democracy in the post-Soviet world. (Book Review)
SLAVIC REVIEW
2007; 66 (1): 167-168
View details for Web of Science ID 000244543700055
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Should democracy be promoted or demoted?
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2007; 31 (1): 23-45
View details for Web of Science ID 000251164400002
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Engaging autocratic allies to promote democracy
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2006; 29 (2): 7-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000236030000001
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Russian resilience as a great power: A response to ambrosio
POST-SOVIET AFFAIRS
2006; 22 (1): 24–33
View details for DOI 10.2747/1060-586X.22.1.24
View details for Web of Science ID 000238169000002
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A win-win US strategy for dealing with Iran
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2006; 30 (1): 121-138
View details for Web of Science ID 000242662600009
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What to do about Russia
POLICY REVIEW
2005: 45-62
View details for Web of Science ID 000232412200003
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Chinese dreams, Persian realities
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2005; 16 (4): 74-82
View details for Web of Science ID 000232740100008
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Transitions from postcommunism
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2005; 16 (3): 5-19
View details for Web of Science ID 000230578400001
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A transatlantic strategy to promote democratic development in the broader Middle East
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2005; 28 (2): 7-21
View details for Web of Science ID 000227778200001
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Democracy promotion as a world value
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2005; 28 (1): 147-163
View details for Web of Science ID 000225489800011
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Putin and the "delegative democracy" trap: Evidence from Russia's 2003-04 elections
POST-SOVIET AFFAIRS
2004; 20 (4): 285-319
View details for Web of Science ID 000226362900001
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The next Transatlantic project - Promoting democracy from North Africa to Afghanistan
INTERNATIONALE POLITIK
2004; 59 (4): 84-88
View details for Web of Science ID 000221221200012
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Gorbachev and Yeltsin as leaders. (Book Review)
SLAVIC REVIEW
2004; 63 (1): 200-201
View details for Web of Science ID 000224295600058
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The evolving social science of postcommunism - Introduction
Conference on Ten Years Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union - Comparative Lessons and Perspective
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 2004: 1–20
View details for Web of Science ID 000232951500001
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Russians as joiners: Realist and liberal conceptions of postcommunist europe
Conference on Ten Years Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union - Comparative Lessons and Perspective
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 2004: 232–256
View details for Web of Science ID 000232951500008
- Between Dictatorship and Democracy: Russian Post-Communist Political Reform Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 2004
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The fourth wave of democracy and dictatorship: Noncooperative transitions in the postcommunist world
Conference on Ten Years Since the Collapse of the Soviet Union - Comparative Lessons and Perspective
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 2004: 58–95
View details for Web of Science ID 000232951500003
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Russian democracy under Putin
PROBLEMS OF POST-COMMUNISM
2003; 50 (4): 12-21
View details for Web of Science ID 000183924300002
- Popular Choice and Managed Democracy: The Russian Elections of 1999 and 2000 2003
- Power and Purpose: American Policy toward Russia after the Cold War Brookings Institution Press. 2003
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The liberty doctrine - Reclaiming the purpose of American power
POLICY REVIEW
2002: 3-22
View details for Web of Science ID 000174827100001
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Are Russians undemocratic?
POST-SOVIET AFFAIRS
2002; 18 (2): 91-121
View details for Web of Science ID 000176938500001
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The fourth wave of democracy and dictatorship - Noncooperative transitions in the postcommunist world
WORLD POLITICS
2002; 54 (2): 212-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000174691400003
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Taliban: Militant Islam, oil, and fundamentalism in central Asia. (Book Review)
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2002; 13 (1): 170-175
View details for Web of Science ID 000173434300015
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Explaining party formation and nonformation in Russia - Actors, institutions, and chance
COMPARATIVE POLITICAL STUDIES
2001; 34 (10): 1159-1187
View details for Web of Science ID 000172271100003
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America's real Russian allies
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
2001; 80 (6): 46-58
View details for Web of Science ID 000172743100004
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Realistic engagement: A new approach to American-Russian relations
CURRENT HISTORY
2001; 100 (648): 313-321
View details for Web of Science ID 000171255800002
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Elections and voters in post-Communist Russia (Book Review)
SLAVIC REVIEW
2001; 60 (1): 191-192
View details for Web of Science ID 000170241300044
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Putin in power
CURRENT HISTORY
2000; 99 (639): 307-314
View details for Web of Science ID 000089612800001
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Reinventing Russia's party of power: "Unity" and the 1999 Duma election
POST-SOVIET AFFAIRS
2000; 16 (3): 201-224
View details for Web of Science ID 000089679200001
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One step forward, two steps back
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
2000; 11 (3): 19-?
View details for Web of Science ID 000088288200002
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Russian democracy: Still not a lost cause
WASHINGTON QUARTERLY
2000; 23 (1): 161-172
View details for Web of Science ID 000085018900013
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Authoritarian and democratic responses to the financial meltdown in Russia
PROBLEMS OF POST-COMMUNISM
1999; 46 (4): 22-32
View details for Web of Science ID 000081146800003
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The perils of a protracted transition
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
1999; 10 (2): 4-18
View details for Web of Science ID 000079834200002
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The rebirth of politics in Russia. (Book Review)
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
1999; 104 (5): 1587-1589
View details for Web of Science ID 000080576400039
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Getting Russia right
FOREIGN POLICY
1999: 58-73
View details for Web of Science ID 000084192000007
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Russia's summer of discontent
CURRENT HISTORY
1998; 97 (621): 307-312
View details for Web of Science ID 000076306800001
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Russia's 'Privatized' state as an impediment to democratic consolidation - Part II
SECURITY DIALOGUE
1998; 29 (3): 315-332
View details for Web of Science ID 000075782900007
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Russia's 'privatized' state as an impediment to democratic consolidation part I
SECURITY DIALOGUE
1998; 29 (2): 191-199
View details for Web of Science ID 000074544400008
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Transition to democracy in Eastern Europe (Book Review)
SLAVIC REVIEW
1998; 57 (1): 174-175
View details for Web of Science ID 000074078000008
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A precarious peace - Domestic politics in the making of Russian foreign policy
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
1998; 22 (3): 5-35
View details for Web of Science ID 000071521400002
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Russian electoral politics after transition: Regional and national assessments
POST-SOVIET GEOGRAPHY AND ECONOMICS
1997; 38 (9): 507-549
View details for Web of Science ID 000071629500001
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Russia's 1996 presidential elections
POST-SOVIET AFFAIRS
1996; 12 (4): 318-350
View details for Web of Science ID A1996WH04900002
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The allocation of property rights in Russia: The first round
COMMUNIST AND POST-COMMUNIST STUDIES
1996; 29 (3): 287-308
View details for Web of Science ID A1996VK32600003
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Russia between elections .1. The vanishing center
JOURNAL OF DEMOCRACY
1996; 7 (2): 90-104
View details for Web of Science ID A1996UG69800009
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STATE POWER, INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE, AND THE POLITICS OF PRIVATIZATION IN RUSSIA
WORLD POLITICS
1995; 47 (2): 210-243
View details for Web of Science ID A1995QB40300002
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Revolutionary ideas, state interests, and Russian foreign policy
Workshop on Political Cultural and Civil Society in Russia
M E SHARPE INC. 1995: 27–52
View details for Web of Science ID A1995BF38T00002
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WHY ZHIRINOVSKY CAN WIN - NUT N HONEY
NEW REPUBLIC
1994; 210 (7): 23-?
View details for Web of Science ID A1994MU60400011
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RUSSIAN CENTRISM AND REVOLUTIONARY TRANSITIONS
POST-SOVIET AFFAIRS
1993; 9 (3): 192-222
View details for Web of Science ID A1993MJ74800002
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A TALE OF 2 WORLDS - CORE AND PERIPHERY IN THE POST-COLD-WAR ERA
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION
1992; 46 (2): 467-491
View details for Web of Science ID A1992HN86600003
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THE DEMISE OF THE WORLD REVOLUTIONARY PROCESS - SOVIET-ANGOLAN RELATIONS UNDER GORBACHEV
JOURNAL OF SOUTHERN AFRICAN STUDIES
1990; 16 (1): 165-189
View details for Web of Science ID A1990DM60600007
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RETHINKING THE REAGAN DOCTRINE IN ANGOLA
INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
1990; 14 (3): 99-135
View details for Web of Science ID A1990CC37400006