Michael McFaul, a Stanford political scientist and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, has been selected as the next director of the university’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Stanford Provost John Etchemendy and Ann Arvin, the university’s vice provost and dean of research. McFaul will succeed Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar, who was nominated in July as an associate justice of the California Supreme Court and elected Tuesday.

McFaul takes the helm of FSI in January.

"Stanford has long been a home for scholars who connect academia to policy and public service, and Professor McFaul is the embodiment of that model," Etchemendy said. "We are grateful for Mike's service and confident he will be a strong leader for FSI."

Arvin said McFaul is a strong fit for the position.

“Professor McFaul’s background as an outstanding scholar and his service as an influential ambassador give him a vital perspective to lead FSI, which is Stanford’s hub for studying and understanding international policy issues,” she said. “His scholarship, experience and energy will keep FSI and Stanford at the forefront of international studies as well as some of the most pressing global policy debates."

McFaul has been a faculty member in the department of political science at Stanford since 1994.  He joined the Obama administration in January 2009, serving for three years as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House. He then served as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014.

McFaul already has a deep affiliation with FSI. Before joining the government, he served as FSI deputy director from 2006 to 2009.  He also directed FSI’s Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) from 2005 to 2009.

During his four years leading CDDRL, McFaul launched the Draper Hills Summer Fellowship program for mid-career lawyers, politicians, advocates and business leaders working to shore up democratic institutions in their home countries. He also established CDDRL’s senior honors program.  From 1992-1994, McFaul also worked as a Senior Research Fellow at FSI’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).

“I am thrilled to be assuming a leadership role again at FSI,” McFaul said.  “FSI has become one of the premier institutions in the country for policy-relevant research on international affairs.  I look forward to using my recent government experience to deepen further FSI’s impact on policy debates in Washington and around the world.”

Arvin said McFaul’s previous positions at FSI and CDDRL will make for a smooth transition in the institute’s leadership.

“His familiarity with FSI’s history and infrastructure will allow him to start this new position with an immediate focus on the institute’s academic mission,” she said.

McFaul is also the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and plans to build on his long affiliations with both Hoover and FSI to deepen cooperation between these two premier public policy institutions on campus.

He has written and co-authored dozens of books including Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; Transitions To Democracy: A Comparative Perspective (with Kathryn Stoner); Power and Purpose: American Policy toward Russia after the Cold War (with James Goldgeier); and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.

“In so many ways, Mike represents the best of FSI,” said Cuéllar, who has held leadership positions at FSI since 2004 and begins his term on the California Supreme Court in January. “He knows the worlds of academia and policy extremely well, and will bring unique experience and sound judgment to his new role at FSI.”

McFaul currently serves as a news analyst for NBC News, appearing frequently on NBC, MSNBC, and CNBC as a commentator on international affairs. He also appears frequently on The Charlie Rose Show and The Newshour, as well as PBS and BBC radio programs. He has recently published essays in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times, Politico, and Time. 

McFaul was one of the first U.S. ambassadors to actively use social media for public diplomacy. He still maintains an active presence on Facebook at amb.mcfaul and on Twitter at @McFaul.

McFaul received his B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and his M.A. in Russian and East European Studies from Stanford University in 1986.  As a Rhodes Scholar, he completed his D. Phil. in International Relations at Oxford University in 1991.

“Since coming here in 1981 as 17-year-old kid from Montana, Stanford has provided me with tremendous opportunities to grow as a student, scholar, and policymaker,” McFaul said. “I now look forward to giving back to Stanford by contributing to the development of one of the most vital and innovative institutions on campus.” 

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Hometown: Virginia Beach, Virginia

Academic Institution: Harvard University

Discipline and date of graduation: Ph.D. in Government, Summer 2014

Research Interests: Politics and economics in non-democracies, political economy of development, political violence, food security

Manuscript working title: Political Survival and the Modern Prince

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? The opportunity to be surrounded by other scholars with similar substantive interests but diverse geographic expertise is extremely exciting to me. I think it's precisely what I need at the moment.

What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long residency at the Center? I will spend most of the year preparing the book manuscript for submission. The dissertation asked how modern African autocrats survive nominally democratic institutions. To focus on the elites who comprise the regime -- as well as their political parties and the elections in which they compete -- the dissertation focused exclusively on the Republic of Congo, ruled by President Denis Sassou Nguesso for all but five years since 1979. I expect to spend much of the year ascertaining to what extent the arguments are generalizable to other parts of autocratic Africa and beyond.

Please state a fun fact about yourself! I really enjoy cooking. A lot. I've cooked through most of The French Laundry Cookbook and am now cooking through the Eleven Madison Park Cookbook. Honestly, I spend way too much time cooking. It's sort of absurd.

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Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon

Academic Institution: Yale University

Discipline and expected date of graduation: Ph.D. in Political Science, expected May 2015

Research Interests: Authoritarianism; Elite Networks; Coalitional Politics; Social Exclusion; Middle East Politics

Dissertation Topic/Title: The Ties that Bind: Making and Breaking Authoritarian Ruling Coalitions

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? My research fits well with CDDRL’s substantive focus on democratization. Opening the black box of authoritarian coalitional formation and evolution is essential for understanding how ruling coalitions may come apart. I am also eager to collaborate with scholars in The Program on Arab Reform and Democracy, especially at a time when the Arab uprisings and coalitional breakdowns have unfortunately moved towards reconfigured authoritarian arrangements.

What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long residency at the Center? As a fellow at CDDRL, I plan to complete my dissertation and begin revising it for publication. I also plan to produce an article on the methodological and ethical challenges of conducting archival research and elite interviews in authoritarian settings.

Please state a fun fact about yourself! I’m a catless cat lady.

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Hometown: Thousand Oaks, CA

Academic Institution: Stanford University

Discipline and expected date of graduation: Ph.D. in Political Science, expected June 2015

Research Interests: statebuilding, state weakness, international security, conflict, political development

Dissertation Topic/Title: The International Sources of Sovereignty and State Weakness

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? My research is broadly focused on the understanding the causes of incomplete governance and political underdevelopment. These are among the core themes in CDDRL's research programs, and CDDRL brings together both rigorous scholarship and a sensitive to policy-relevant research in these thematic areas. For that reason, I am excited about joining CDDRL's community of researchers, particularly those engaged in scholarship in the Governance Project and in the Program on Poverty and Governance. I look forward to productive conversations around the Center, and to helpful guidance and advice.

What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long residency at the Center? During my residency at CDDRL, I plan to complete my dissertation writing. I am also eager to begin a new project with another CDDRL pre-doctoral fellow in which we examine the relationship between statebuilding and democracy in developing countries.

Please state a fun fact about yourself! I make an excellent cheesecake!

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Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya

Academic Institution: Stanford University 

Discipline and expected date of graduation: PhD in Political Science, expected June 2015

Research Interests: Institutions, Legislative Studies, Political Economy of Development, Elections and Governance, Natural Resource Management and Regional Cooperation

Dissertation Topic/Title: Institutions and Political Change: The Case of African Legislatures

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? I was attracted to CDDRL because of the centers strong emphasis on the need to link academic research with policy. I am interested in the ways in which institutional change impact development outcomes through the evolution of better, accountable governance and public policies. My research on legislatures includes analyses of how levels legislative institutionalization impact public finance management in African states.

What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long residency at the Center? I hope to finish writing my dissertation, to publish at least two chapters of the dissertation as stand alone papers, and to continue contributing to the policy world through my writing and consultancies.

Please state a fun fact about yourself! I run half marathons. Because I am Kenyan.

Gustavo Robles

Hometown: Guadalajara, Mexico

Academic Institution: Stanford University

Discipline and expected date of graduation: PhD in Political Science, expected 2015 

Research Interests: Economics of Crime and Violence, Legislative Studies, Political Economy of Development.

Dissertation Topic/Title: Three Essays on the Political Economy Drug-Related Violence in Mexico

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? CDDRL is a great place for students doing comparative work since it has a unique and vibrant community of faculty, visiting scholars, and policy makers from all over the world, including an important number of specialists in Latin American politics.

Moreover, the Center’s research agenda substantially aligns with my work on the relationship between democracy, partisanship, and governments’ efforts to contain and reduce crime and violence.

Finally, the work of the Program on Poverty and Governance at CDDRL on criminal violence and citizen security throughout Latin America has significantly shaped my PhD dissertation and research agenda.

What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long residency at the Center? I would like to complete the part of my dissertation that explores the relationship between Mexico’s democratization, criminal violence, and the government’s enforcement of the rule of law. In addition, the pre-doctoral fellowship will facilitate the completion of different ongoing research projects I am involved with at the Center. 

Please state a fun fact about yourself! I’m a good salsa dancer, jigsaw puzzle enthusiast, and amateur beach volleyball player.

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Hometown: Bremen, GA

Academic Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Discipline and expected date of graduation: Ph.D. in Political Science, expected May 2015

Research Interests: Comparative Politics, Policing, Governance, Rule of Law, and Chinese Politics 

Dissertation Topic/Title: Policing China: Struggles of Law, Order, and Organization for Ground-Level Officers

What attracted you to the CDDRL Pre/post-doctoral program? CDDRL's mission to understand how the rule of law and government institutions operate speaks directly to my work on the police bureaucracy. The Center's multidisciplinary approach brings together.scholars and intellectuals, making it an excellent forum for grappling with issues of institutional reform and local state security. As one of the newest additions to CDDRL, I look forward to engaging this community as I continue to investigate the weaknesses and strengths of the institutional apparatus China employs to carry out state priorities of reform and control.  

What do you hope to accomplish during your year-long residency at the Center? While at CDDRL I will finish my dissertation and prepare two chapters for publication. I also plan to lay the groundwork for my next project on the rapidly evolving relationship between police and media.  

Please state a fun fact about yourself! I'm a terrible gardener.