April 9th, 2012

Researchers call for policy, aid and innovation to help world’s poorest

Bill Gates spoke to a Stanford audience about the importance of foreign aid and product innovation in the fight against chronic hunger, poverty and disease in the developing world. FSI senior fellows Larry Diamond, Jeremy Weinstein, Paul Wise and Walter Falcon share their own ideas about how to secure the most fragile nations. Read more »

October 23rd, 2011

Charles Perrow: How technology can nudge climate change politics

Writing in Bloomberg View, Charles Perrow says U.S. investment in carbon capture and storage technology could "induce China and Europe to follow suit." This "would allow the world time for renewable-energy technologies to mature -- to the point where we could do away with coal burning altogether." Read more »

August 24th, 2011

As Tripoli falls, a political scientist says a difficult road lies ahead

As events unfold in Tripoli, the world is asking what to expect next. James Fearon, a political scientist whose research focuses on political violence, ethnic conflict, and the impact of democracy on foreign policy, says a post-Gaddafi Libya looks like a vacuum in terms of civil society and competent state institutions -- and such vacuums, he says, "are usually very dangerous." Read more »

September 24th, 2010

Honors students explore challenges of policy implementation, assessment in Washington, D.C.

In September, honors students from FSI's two undergraduate honors programs - the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) and the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) - traveled to Washington, D.C., with their faculty advisors for senior-level policy briefings with U.S. government officials and major international organizations, NGOs, and think tanks. A highlight was a meeting at the National Security Council with two leading Stanford foreign policy experts serving in the current administration: Michael McFaul, President Obama's senior advisor on Russia; and Jeremy Weinstein, Director for Democracy on the National Security Council Staff. Read more »

June 24th, 2010

President Dmitry Medvedev: Russia is open for partnership

"Russia is open for partnership, for investment, and foreign trade" with American universities and companies, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told a Stanford audience. Saying, "I wanted to see with my own eyes the origins of success," Medvedev spent a day in Silicon Valley and on campus meeting with leaders. To modernize the Russian economy and reduce its reliance on natural resources, his government is creating a high-tech, innovation center in Skolkovo and has announced new tax and other incentives to attract foreign investment and innovators. Read more »

June 22nd, 2010

CISAC's David Holloway on Medvedev's visit to Silicon Valley

Holloway, an expert on the former Soviet Union, says President Medvedev faces serious obstacles in creating conditions conducive for a Russian "Silicon Valley," but he might be the right person for the job. Read more »

June 14th, 2010

Tenth class of honors students exhorted to be doers as well as scholars

Thirteen members of the 2010 CISAC Honors Class in International Security Studies graduated on a balmy summer day June 11, joining 101 alumni of the popular program that marks its 10th anniversary this year. Read more »