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Hong Kong localism and independence
Hong Kong’s democrats need to focus on ‘prize’ of universal suffrage rather than independence, leading US academic Larry Diamond says. Read the article here.
Saving the world’s food and water supplies with Ertharin Cousin
The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University is pleased to announce that former U.S. Ambassador and World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director Ertharin Cousin will return for a second year at Stanford. We caught up with Cousin to ask about her plans for this upcoming school year.
The Decline of American Public Administration
"If you want some notion of the problem, just try uttering the words “public administration” before a roomful of students and watch them look at their phones or start to fall asleep. Nonetheless, the classic field of public administration is one of the most important today, and its decline (at least in the United States) is one of the reasons why we get poor service from government," writes CDDRL Director Francis Fukuyama.
Social Media and Censorship
"The idea that the big internet platforms are not media companies has never really been tenable, and the contradictions in their public protestations of neutrality have become ever more apparent over time," writes Francis Fukuyama in The American Interest. Read the article here.
Teaching Public Policy, part 2
"In my previous post, I noted how public policy education needs to shift its focus from training policy analysts to training leaders who are capable of actually implementing good policies.
Digital Media: Combatting Threats in the Era of Fake News
"What is different today is the speed and extraterritorial reach of disinformation.
From the Experts: FSI on the Helsinki Summit 2018
Quick-Take: Helsinki 2018 with David Holloway
Q:What specific results/agreements have come out of the meeting?
Web-Event: E. Donahoe in 'Pulling at the Strings: Kremlin's Interference in 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
Meet the next generation of Ukraine’s leaders
Selected from among 668 applicants, the 2018-19 Ukrainian Emerging Leaders at Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) stood out for their outstanding civic records, leadership potential and contributions to Ukraine’s political and social development.
A Victory For Democratic Reform
"In what may be looked back upon as the most important election in the United States in 2018, the voters of Maine rejected political cynicism on Tuesday and preserved ranked-choice voting (RCV) for its future elections.
CDDRL Students Graduate from Fisher Family Honors Program
Each year the Center offers an interdisciplinary honors program, through which students write a thesis related to the topics of democracy, development and the rule of law. This year’s cohort wrote on a vast range of topics, including electoral reform in Chile, the rise of the far-right in Greece, and public health in Oaxaca, Mexico.
Anwar in the wings as Malaysia remakes its democracy
"Will the ruse fool the devil? Will renascent Malaysian democracy survive? Bandwagoning is already underway, as venal officials and executives who benefited from Najib’s kleptocratic ways seek political safety by ingratiating themselves with the new government, potentially weakening its ability to clean house," writes CDDRL affiliated faculty Donald K. Emmerson on the latest development in Malaysia. Read here.
CDDRL's Stephen Stedman receives Stanford’s 2018 Dinkelspiel award
CDDRL Deputy Director Stephen J. Stedman received the 2018 Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award For Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Education. Stedman is a Freeman Spogli Senior Fellow, an affiliated faculty member at CISAC, and professor of political science (by courtesy) at Stanford University.
Why We Find Self-Driving Cars So Scary
"Take note, Elon Musk: Even if autonomous cars are safer overall, the public will accept the new technology only when it fails in predictable and reasonable ways," writes Jerry Kaplan in The Wall Street Journal. Read the full article here.
The Draper Hills Summer Fellows Class of 2018
Stanford’s Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law is proud to announce our 2018 Draper Hills Summer Fellows who were selected from among hundreds of applicants for their path-breaking work to defend democracy. These 27 leaders drawn from 23 countries around the world are pioneering new approaches and models to advance social and political change in some of the most challenging global contexts. Learn more here.
Why Trump’s plans for regime change in Iran will have the opposite effect
"Containing Iran’s belligerent actions abroad should be a high priority for the Trump administration, as well as engaging in arms control to limit Iran’s ballistic missile program and supporting ideas of democracy and human rights," writes Michael McFaul and Abbas Milani in The Washington Post.
Malaysia’s Democratic Breakthrough
"Malaysia's recent electoral earthquake has opened the way to a transition to democracy. This is a big positive development at a time when democracy globally needs a lift," writes Larry Diamond in this American Interest article.
Beijing’s Building Boom
"Scholars and pundits in the West have become increasingly alarmed that China’s planned Belt and Road Initiative (B&R) could further shift the global strategic landscape in Beijing’s favor, with infrastructure lending as its primary lever for global influence. The planned network of an infrastructure project—financed by China’s bilateral lenders, the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM), along with the newly formed and multilateral Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank—is historically unprecedented in scope.
So, Now What? A Way Out of Our Polarized Politics
Of the current climate of political polarization, CDDRL's Didi Kuo writes, "we can hope that citizen dissatisfaction fosters political engagement through activities such as protest, mobilization and pressure on public officials. Democratic institutions are the best, and only, way to resolve crises of democracy." Read the full article here.
Who I Am: The Role of Identity in Modern Politics
"America needs to pull back from the identities favored by liberals and conservatives to an integrative one based on the country’s founding principles," writes Francis Fukuyama in Stanford Magazine. Read the full article here.
Facebook vs. Democracy
Listen to Francis Fukuyama in conversation with Frederic Filloux on the need of regulations of platforms, the preservation of free speech, and the role of Europe here on The Monday Note.
The Imprudence of Unilateral US Withdrawal from the Iran Nuclear Deal
In his article for the The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Abbas Milani writes that "the much-rumored and long-expected announcement by President Trump that he will order the United States to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal—officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA—is arguably the worst policy option for addressing problems in what was the least-bad possible deal when it was signed." Read the full article
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan talks illiberal democracies, election issues
“When you see something wrong, don’t be a bystander,” Annan responded. “You are never too young to lead. Don’t let my generation tell you, ‘Shut up and wait your turn.’ If there’s something you feel that you can do something about, do it. Work across racial, religious and other lines. Don’t accept divisions you see in society,” said former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Kofi Annan in conversation with CDDRL Mosbacher Director Francis Fukuyama.