February 8th, 2008
Larry Diamond cited in National Journal
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: The National Journal on February 1, 2008National Journal writer Jonathan Rauch's article, "Export Security, Not Democracy" uses Larry Diamond's expertise to make a somewhat pessimistic argument on the prospect of democracy promotion. Read more »
February 6th, 2008
Michael McFaul urges new engagement with Iran
As 2007 draws to a close, Michael McFaul and Abbas Milani urges new engagement with Iran. McFaul also shares his view on Iran's democratization process.
- » Washington Post op-ed (Dec. 29, 2008)
- » Interview, Iran Emrooz magazine (Farsi) Feb. 6, 2008
- » Interview, Iran Emrooz magazine (English translation)
- » Washington Quarterly journal article (Dec. 2006)
February 5th, 2008
Study by Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss featured in WSJ article
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: The Wall Street Journal on February 1, 2008An editorial article in the Wall Street Journal on Friday, February 1, 2008, featured the positions brought fourth by Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss's Foreign Affairs essay, "The Myth of the Authoritarian Model," (Jan./Feb. 2008). Read more »
David Brady gives advice on political polarization
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsAt the Taipei conference on Saturday, January 26, 2008, David Brady gave a keynote speech, focusing on the negative political and economic consequences of political polarization. 
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January 30th, 2008
Michael McFaul on the latest U.S.-Russian relationship trajectory
In the News: LA Times on January 29, 2008The relationship is "the worst it's been in 20 years," Michael McFaul said of current U.S. Russian relations, adding further that Russia does not have the ability to prevent the U.S. from reaching its national security objectives but it can make them more difficult to achieve.
- » LA Times: A Cold War redux is seen on the horizon
- » The Moscow Times: Russia sidelined in U.S. campaign
January 25th, 2008
Former president of Peru gives first of three Payne lectures
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsOn Jan. 24, Dr. Alejandro Toledo, former president of Peru, delivered the first of his three scheduled Payne Distinguished Lectures at FSI Stanford. His talk, entitled "Can the Poor Afford Democracy? A Presidential Perspective," analyzed the relationship between democratic reform, economic growth, and poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in Latin America. 
presentation available
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January 22nd, 2008
Larry Diamond releases a new book, The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World
CDDRL, FSI Stanford NewsIn his new book, The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World (Times Books 2008), Larry Diamond intensely scrutinizes the global effort on democracy promotion.
- » The Spirit of Democracy: The Struggle to Build Free Societies Throughout the World
- » Book TV on C-SPAN2 (February 23, 2008)
January 7th, 2008
McFaul urges new engagement with Iran in Wash Post Op-Ed
CDDRL, FSI Stanford Op-ed: Washington Post on December 29, 2007As the year draws to a close, write Michael McFaul and Abbas Milani in the Washington Post, it's important to note that the U.S. debate on Iran is stalled, trapped between "regime changers" vs. "arms controllers," "hawks" vs. "doves," and "idealists" vs. "realists." The National Intelligence Estimate released this month offers an opportunity to escape this straitjacketed debate by embracing a new strategy that would pursue both the short-term goal of arms control and the long-term goal of democracy in Iran. Read more »
December 19th, 2007
McFaul discusses "Putin, Part 2" on KQED Forum
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: KQED Forum on December 18, 2007CDDRL Director Michael McFaul discusses U.S.-Russia relations on KQED Forum, with analysis of Russia's first shipment of nuclear fuel to Iran and Vladimir Putin's announcement that he will take over as prime minister after stepping down as president next year. Read more »
December 13th, 2007
McFaul, Stoner-Weiss editorial on the "myth of Putin's success" in IHT
CDDRL, FSI Stanford Op-ed: International Herald Tribune on December 13, 2007Vladimir Putin's designation of Dmitri Medvedev as his preferred successor should be more than enough for Medvedev to win the March presidential election in Russia by a landslide. Not surprisingly, he has already pledged to continue his mentor's policies and suggested that Putin become prime minister to ensure his continued involvement in ruling Russia.
McFaul and Stoner-Weiss on the "myth of Putin's success" in January/February issue of Foreign Affairs
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the NewsSince Putin came to power in 2000, order has been restored in Russia, the economy has flourished, and the average Russian is living better than ever before--according to the conventional narrative. Michael McFaul and Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, Director and Associate Directors of CDDRL, argue in the current issue of Foreign Affairs that this narrative is wrong--and that while "powerful in its simplicity," Putin's hand in these accomplishments is a myth "based entirely on a spurious correlation between autocracy and growth."
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December 10th, 2007
McFaul comments on Russia's parliamentary election in latest op-eds and news analyses
In the News: Wall Street Journal on December 4, 2007After observing Russia's parliamentary election on Dec. 2, Michael McFaul, Director of CDDRL, expects the next phase in Russian politics to be likely more competitive and unstable than the previous eight years.
- » Small Democratic Step
- » Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
- » Bloomberg News
- » International Herald Tribune
December 1st, 2007
Summer Fellows Program Brings Civic Activists, Policymakers to Stanford
Larry Diamond---Hoover Institution senior fellow, CDDRL democracy program coordinator, and former senior advisor to the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq---has just discussed causes and consequences of corruption and international efforts to control it with a room full of visiting fellows. This is not just a group of learned political scientists, however, and Diamond does not hesitate to follow a sophisticated piece of analysis with a hard-nosed, view-from-the-ground assessment. He has, for instance, just told the fellows what he thinks of a major development institution. ("I think the World Bank needs to be ripped apart and fundamentally restructured.") He has extended the concept of a "resource curse" to include not just oil but also international assistance. ("In many countries, aid is like oil; it's used for outside rents.") He has recommended that institutions learn the "dance of conditionality" and exercise selectivity, choosing countries to invest in based on demonstrated performance. But the 27 fellows around the table know a thing or two about corruption. Most of them face it in their home countries; many of them have made fighting it part of their work. And almost all of their hands go up to tell Diamond that there is something he missed, or something he got right. Read more »
November 28th, 2007
Gail Lapidus writes on Russian elite attitudes in Post-Soviet Affairs
In the News: Post-Soviet AffairsGail Lapidus discusses the content and sources of Russian elite perspectives on international affairs. She examines the "color revolutions," the perceived specter of Islamic radicalism, contestation over Russian identity, and evolving perceptions of Russia's international leverage for their impact on elite attitudes. The article also looks at the crisis in relations between between Russia and Georgia, as an illustration of the relationship between insecurity and assertiveness. Read more »
November 26th, 2007
CDDRL Director McFaul, Fukuyama say foreign policy realism, democracy promotion are compatible
CDDRL, FSI Stanford In the News: The Washington QuarterlyIn Should Democracy Be Promoted or Demoted?, CDDRL Director Michael McFaul and Francis Fukuyama argue for continued American efforts to promote democracy and offer a plan to strengthen democracy promotion policy tools. While "rhetorical attention devoted to promoting freedom, liberty, and democracy has greatly outpaced actual progress in advancing democracy" and caused many Americans to view this goal with skepticism, McFaul and Fukuyama argue that "pursuing traditional foreign policy objectives does not trade off with democracy promotion" and that a more effective strategy for promoting democracy and human rights is needed and available.
October 17th, 2007
Michael McFaul comments on Russian President Putin's trip to Iran on NPR All Things Considered
In the News: NPR on October 16, 2007The presidents of Russia and Iran met in Tehran on the sidelines of a summit of Caspian leaders, marking the first time since WWII that a Russian leader has visited Iran. However, the visit comes at time of great tension between the U.S. and Tehran. Michael McFaul, Director of CDDRL, said both Russia and Iran have difficult relationships with the West by the way they organize their regimes and both share the strategic thinking of "we can be our own force, our own block." Read more »
October 12th, 2007
FSI, former CESP senior fellows share Nobel honor
FSI Stanford, CDDRL NewsThe Nobel Peace Prize has been jointly awarded to former Vice President Albert Arnold Gore Jr. and the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a network of 2,000 scientists that includes Thomas Heller, the Lewis Talbot and Nadine Hearn Shelton Professor of International Legal Studies and FSI senior fellow; Stephen Schneider, the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and former CESP co-director and senior fellow; and Terry Root, professor of biological sciences, by courtesy, and former CESP senior fellow. Read more »
October 4th, 2007
Iron-fisted Putin plans run for PM: Russian president shows Kremlin-watchers he has no intention of relaxing grip on top rung of power
In the News: Toronto Star on October 2, 2007Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, CDDRL associate director for research, is quoted in the Toronto Star,
Oct. 2, 2007. Read more »
October 3rd, 2007
CDDRL visiting scholar Hicham Benabdallah interviewed on "Al Jazeera in English"
In the News: YouTubeOn October 3, 2007, Hicham Benabeallah, a visiting scholar at CDDRL, was the guest of Riz Khan on Al Jazeera in English. The interview centered around the prospects for reform and democratization in Morocco. There was a focus on the recent elections in Morocco, with comments on the worrisome high abstention rate. The prospects and strategies for reform in the wider Arab world were also discussed. The point was made that the path forward for monarchies is to redefine their role as institutions of arbitration. The segment is about 20 minutes long, and would be of interest to anyone who is studying the Arab and Muslim world, monarchy and democratization, or the Middle East. Read more »
September 27th, 2007
Kathryn Stoner-Weiss assesses Russia in Freedom House's Countries at the Crossroads 2007 survey
Press ReleaseKathryn Stoner-Weiss, associate director for research at CDDRL, is the author of the Russia chapter in Countries at the Crossroads, an annual survey of government performance in 30 strategically important countries worldwide. In it, she writes on the decline in the democratic character of governance in Russia since 2005, as well as legislation restricting the work of nongovernmental organizations and the ability of political parties to register and participate in elections.
September 25th, 2007
U.S.-Saudi relations remain intimate despite differences over Iran and Arab-Israeli issue says CDDRL visiting professor Teitelbaum
In the News: Tel Aviv Notes on September 25, 2007Joshua Teitelbaum, CDDRL visiting professor, writes on current U.S.-Saudi Arabia relations in Tel Aviv Notes (Moshe Dayan Center). He notes that while the degree of US-Saudi intimacy will fluctuate, the US needs Saudi Arabia for its oil and contribution to regional stability, and the Saudi royal family needs the US to keep it in power and Iran at bay.
September 6th, 2007
Michael McFaul remembers Ohio congressman Charles Vanik
In the News: Washington Post on September 1, 2007Former Democratic congressman Charles Vanik, 94, passed away August 30th at his home in Jupiter, FLa. A 13-term congressman from Ohio, his biggest impact came when he and former Sen. Henry Jackson (D-Wash.) sponsored what became known as the Jackson-Vanik amendment in 1974. It was "one of the most successful foreign policy ideas initiated by Congress during the Cold War," Michael McFaul, Director of CDDRL, recalled. "The Jackson-Vanik amendment was a moral act. It explicitly linked the Soviet Union's trading status to levels of Jewish emigration." Read more »
August 30th, 2007
CDDRL has concluded its third year of the Stanford Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program
The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) has concluded its third year of the Stanford Summer Fellows on Democracy and Development Program held July 30th-August 17th, 2007. Read more »
August 21st, 2007
Michael McFaul comments in the Washington Post on 'dissident' President Bush as his democracy push falters
In the News: Washington Post on August 20, 2007Some presidents in the past had promoted liberty or human rights around the world, however, "rhetorically, nobody, including even Ronald Reagan, devoted more words in a major speech to this objective than George W. Bush," said Michael McFaul, Director of CDDRL. Yet, two and a half years after President Bush pledged in his second inaugural address to spread democracy around the world, the grand project has bogged down in a bureaucratic and geopolitical morass, as viewed by many, and even many in his administration never bought into the idea. Read more »
August 13th, 2007
Weiner co-authors new edition of popular International Law casebook
CDDRL, FSI Stanford NewsThoroughly updated to keep pace with the many new developments in international law, the Fifth Edition of this popular casebook covers the core topics, basic doctrines, and a broad range of foreign policy issues relevant to the contemporary public international law course. Reflecting the many recent developments in this area of the law, the Fifth Edition features SCICN Co-Director Allen Weiner as a new co-author who brings extensive first-hand knowledge of international legal institutions.
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