May 8th, 2008
McFaul optimistic about Russia's new president
In the News: Voice of America on May 6, 2008Interviewed for Voice of America's Ukrainian frequency, CDDRL Director Michael McFaul expresses optimism about the political potential and intentions of Russia's new president, Dmitri Medvedev.
May 7th, 2008
Tom Friedman features Diamond, his new book in NYT column
In the News: New York Times on May 7, 2008"There are two important recessions going on in the world today," writes Thomas Friedman in the New York Times May 7. One is the economic recession, and the other is what FSI senior fellow Larry Diamond terms the "democratic recession." Friedman extensively discusses Diamond and the concept of democratic recession as laid out in his new book, The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World. 
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May 2nd, 2008
National Academies Press releases book on democracy assistance, Weinstein co-author
CISAC, CDDRL AnnouncementThe National Research Council at the National Academies has released a new, book-length report from its Committee on the Evaluation of USAID Democracy Assistance Programs. CDDRL/CISAC faculty member Jeremy Weinstein was a member of the committee and co-author of the report, "Improving Democracy Assistance: Building Knowledge Through Evaluations and Research," which is available for PDF download and will be published in hard copy Dec. 2008. 
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April 29th, 2008
McFaul Journal of Democracy article cited in Lebanese Daily Star
In the News: Daily Star (Lebanon) on April 23, 2008Daily Star journalist Rami G. Khouri discusses "Morocco's Elections: The Limits of Limited Reforms," a January 2008 Journal of Democracy article that CDDRL Director Michael McFaul wrote with Tamara Wittes of the Brookings Institution. McFaul and Wittes argue that Arab instability often reflects a lack of democracy, says Khouri, and that the parliamentary elections in Morocco last September offered important insights into what might happen when Arabs are given a chance to engage in democratic politics.
- » Morocco's Elections: The Limits of Limited Reforms
- » Daily Star: Arabs face dysfunctional democracy
- » Aljazeera Magazine: Two causes of Arab political incoherence
April 22nd, 2008
Moscow Times discusses, quotes McFaul as Obama Russian strategist
In the News: The Moscow Times on April 22, 2008The Russian newspaper quotes CDDRL director Michael McFaul as "Obama's top Russia strategist," quoting McFaul on Obama's tendency to engage--rather than isolate--in foreign policy. Read more »
April 17th, 2008
Hicham Benabdallah writes about Arab democracy in age of terrorism
CDDRL, FSI Stanford Op-ed: Le Monde DiplomatiqueFor the last 20 years authoritarian regimes have refashioned themselves in order to stay in power, writes CDDRL visiting scholar Hicham Benabdallah in Le Monde Diplomatique. As the middle class under these regimes becomes increasingly disengaged from local politics, many social groups see the hope for their future outside the national context. Read more »
Germany vetoes NATO membership for Ukraine, Georgia; Putin the big winner, McFaul tells National Journal
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: National Journal on April 15, 2008"Putin looks like the big winner this week," CDDRL Director Michael McFaul wrote in an e-mail to the National Journal from Kiev. "As one of my Ukrainian friends said, Russia de facto is already a NATO member as they have the power to veto members, while Ukraine has no such similar powers." Read more »
April 11th, 2008
Should be engaging Medvedev after May, not Putin in April, says McFaul in Wash Post
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: Washington Post on April 6, 2008CDDRL Director Michael McFaul comments for the Washington Post on Bush and Putin's weekend meeting in Sochi. "We should be engaging Medvedev after May, not Putin in April," says McFaul.
Diamond sketches way out of Iraq
CDDRL, FSI Stanford Op-ed: Huffington Post on April 10, 2008The truth is, we remain trapped in an awful quagmire, writes Larry Diamond in the Huffington Post and FSI In The World, a new faculty blog for the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. So what needs to be done? Read more »
April 7th, 2008
McFaul interviewed by Russia Today about NATO expansion, Bush and Putin in Sochi
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsRussia Today interviews CDDRL Director Michael McFaul about NATO expansion and Bush and Putin's meeting in Sochi. Read more »
March 27th, 2008
Working paper: Jojarth develops empirical model for oil production costs
FSI Stanford, CDDRL, PESD NewsWhat does it cost to produce a barrel of oil? CDDRL research associate and PESD affiliate Christine Jojarth provides a systematic answer to this question, taking into account geography, the "difficulty" of the oil field, and other factors. The results help quantify how much extra revenue is flowing to oil producers worldwide. Read more »
March 25th, 2008
Ahmed interviewed about life in Baghdad five years after beginning of war
CISAC, CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsHuda Ahmed, an Iraqi journalist living in the United States and a visiting scholar at Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute, talks about the frustrations and fears Iraqis face five years after the beginning of the war in Iraq. She also shares the personal struggles she faces living in the U.S. while her family faces daily dangers in Iraq.
March 20th, 2008
BIOSKETCH: Larry Diamond
CDDRL, FSI Stanford NewsLarry Diamond has been appointed as a Senior Fellow in the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI). Currently a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, a renowned scholar of democratization, and prolific in both editorial and policy work, Diamond is an active member of FSI's Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). He coordinates the Program on Democracy, which examines the comparative dynamics of democratic functioning and change in the contemporary world, with a particular focus on the countries of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, and the post-communist world. He has also established the offshoot program, Democracy in Taiwan, in 2006, and is a central participant in the Stanford Summer Fellows Program on Democracy and Development. Read more »
March 19th, 2008
Former President of Mexico sees positive economic, social growth for Latin America
CDDRL, FSI Stanford NewsAddressing a packed auditorium on March 5, Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, spoke with intensity about Latin America's prospects for both social welfare and economic well-being in the coming century. Mexico, which Goldman Sachs recently projected to be the world's fifth largest economy by 2040, was emblematic of this electrifying future, he said. Fox's lecture was sponsored by FSI as part of the 2008 Robert G. Wesson Lecture Series in International Relations Theory and Practice. 
Audio & Video transcripts available
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March 18th, 2008
Eric Chen-hua Yu gives insight on upcoming presidential election in Taiwan on KQED's Michael Krasny show
In the NewsEric Chen-hua Yu, research fellow and program manager for the Democracy in Taiwan program at CDDRL, talks about the parties, their candidates, and the potential impact on U.S. relations with China and Taiwan.
March 11th, 2008
International grants totaling $1 million awarded to interdisciplinary Stanford research teams
FSI Stanford, CDDRL, PGJ NewsFSI scholars Josh Cohen, Thomas Heller, Erik Jensen, Terry Karl, and Helen Stacy are part of research teams that received funding from Stanford's Presidential Fund for Innovation in International Studies (PFIIS), which in February awarded its third round of just under $1 million for interdisciplinary research. "It is especially gratifying to see the younger faculty competing for these grants, eager to generate new knowledge and new solutions and help train a new generation of leaders," said Coit D. Blacker, chair of the International Initiative Executive Committee and director of Stanford's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Read more »
March 5th, 2008
Der Spiegel interview with McFaul on Russian presidential election
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: Der Spiegel on March 5, 2008CDDRL Director Michael McFaul talks to Der Spiegel about Russia's presidential election.
March 4th, 2008
Trend towards 'democratic recession,' writes Diamond in Foreign Affairs
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsLarry Diamond's article in the March/April 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs, "Democratic Rollback: The Resurgence of the Predatory State", suggests the world is slipping into democratic recession signified by the rise of predatory states threatening both nascent and established democracies. But this trend can be reversed with the development of good governance, strict accountability, and the help of conditional aid from the West.
McFaul cited in Globe and Mail article on Putin's myth
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: The Globe and Mail on February 29, 2008Michael McFaul is quoted extensively in a Globe and Mail article, "Debunking the myth that Putin built prosperity." Read more »
March 3rd, 2008
Michael McFaul on Russia's presidential election
CDDRL, FSI Stanford Op-ed: Newsweek on March 2, 2008Michael McFaul, director of CDDRL, gives his take on the Russian presidential election and the next president of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev.
- » Newsweek: Putin's political legacy (op-ed, Mar 2, 2008)
- » New York Times: Putin's anointed heir shows hints of less icy style (Feb 28, 2008)
- » Washington Post: Russia pumps tens of millions into burnishing image abroad (Mar 6, 2008)
February 27th, 2008
Huffington Post: Diamond blogs on Obama "hit parade"
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsLarry Diamond, Hoover Institution senior fellow and CDDRL democracy program coordinator, blogs on the Huffington Post about the inevitable and "intense assault on Barack Obama's character, his past, and his judgment." Read more »
Former president of Mexico to give public lecture March 5
CDDRL, FSI Stanford AnnouncementVicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, will give a talk at Stanford titled "Economic Growth, Poverty and Democracy in Latin America--A President's Perspective" from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 5, in Bishop Auditorium. Audio & Video transcripts available
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February 26th, 2008
Tom Heller shares Nobel Peace Prize honor
In the NewsTom Heller, Co-coordinator of the Rule of Law Program at CDDRL, shares the honor for his work with UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Read more »
February 24th, 2008
McFaul quoted on Kosovo's secession
In the News: Tri-Valley Herald on February 22, 2008Michael McFaul, political science professor and director of the Center on Democracy, Development and Rule of Law at Stanford University, said Thursday the United States took the right stand by recognizing Kosovo's independence, but that secession will not be easy. Read more »
February 21st, 2008
Jeremy Weinstein in November publication of American Political Science Review
In the NewsJeremy Weinstein, in collaboration with three other researchers, identifies the mechanisms that link diversity to public goods provision.
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