"What is different today is the speed and extraterritorial reach of disinformation. Over-restriction on content undermines our democratic values, but understanding the mechanisms of manipulation opens up the solutions." Our Eileen Donahoe, Executive Director of CDDRL's Global Digital Policy Incubator, said in the podcast "Digital Media: Combatting Threats in the Era of Fake News." Listen here.

"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. Read the full article here.

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. 

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 here. 

“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. Read the article here and watch the video here.

CDDRL Mosbacher director Francis Fukuyama spoke with Alexander Görlach for The WorldPost about U.S. President Donald Trump, the populist wave sweeping Europe and “fake news.” Read here.

"Since 1978, China’s authoritarian political system has been different from virtually all other dictatorships in part because the ruling Communist Party has been subject to rules regarding succession. Term limits for senior leadership have kicked in at regular 10-year intervals three times so far, and the party’s system of cultivating and training new leaders to replace the outgoing ones had allowed it to avoid the stagnation of countries like Egypt, Zimbabwe, Libya or Angola, where presidents ruled for decades. But all of this is out the window now because of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent announcement that term limits on the presidency will be abolished. This means that he will likely be China’s ruler for the rest of his life, turning at one stroke an institutionalized autocracy into a personal one. This builds upon the massive cult of personality he has been cultivating, with “Xi Jinping Thought” now canonized in the Constitution alongside Chairman Mao," writes CDDRL Mosbacher Director Francis Fukuyama in Washington Post. Read the article here.