Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies

"We keep seeing laws that try to use privacy as a pretense for regulating content. And it's fundamentally dishonest. And that dishonesty is keeping us from having real conversations about these issues." — Daphne Keller on Techdirt

Ctrl-Alt-Speech: ChatGPT Told Us Not To Say This, But YOLO Ctrl-Alt-Speech is a weekly podcast about the latest news in online speech, from Mike Masnick and Everything in Moderation’s Ben Whitelaw. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, …

U.S. policymakers need a new playbook that will help them assess, enhance, and use the country’s knowledge power, says FSI Senior Fellow Amy Zegart.

Read her recommendations for how to do this in Foreign Affairs.

The Crumbling Foundations of American Strength Knowledge is power—and the United States is losing it.

Baby Boomers are stumbling into a healthcare system that's under-prepared for the increasing rates of alcohol consumption among older people, says Keith Humphreys.

🎧 Listen to his full conversation about alcohol trends in the U.S. on . ⏯️

New Habits in Our Old Age For the most part, the world has gone back to normal. We’re getting on planes… going to concerts… but many Americans haven’t changed their pandemic drinking hab

Threats from tech giants against public interests are wrong whether they are issued behind closed doors or in broad daylight, and democratic leaders and all citizens should oppose them, no matter the messenger, no matter the issue, says Marietje Schaake. Read more in Financial Times.

Political leaders must push back against tech bullies Companies should pay the price for their aggression

The end of the Chevron doctrine gives critics new avenues to challenge health regulations and could have long-reaching ramifications for agencies to set health policy.

Lee Fleisher, Anne Joseph O’Connell, and Stanford Health Policy's Michelle Mello discuss more in JAMA.

Ramifications of the Supreme Court’s Term for Health Regulation This Viewpoint discusses several major rulings from the US Supreme Court’s 2023 to 2024 term and how these rulings may affect federal agencies’ ability to enact health policy.

"History —including Russia in 1917— shows that in a stalemated war, it only takes a few soldiers defecting to turn into something catastrophic. If I were Putin, I would be very worried about that right now."

🎧 Listen to more from Michael McFaul on KQED Forum ⏯️

After Ukraine Invades Russia, Analysts Assess Risks Ukraine has brought the war to Russia. Its incursion on Aug. 6 into the Kursk region marks the largest invasion of Russia since World War II. It also marks a sh

Come learn with us! This fall quarter Tom Fingar at the Stanford Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center will be leading a course on the complexities of U.S.-China relations and our narratives around it.

Sign up for "U.S.-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold Shoulder" at the link below. ↘️

US-China Relations: From Cold War to Cold Shoulder The US-China relationship is often described as the most important in the world. It’s also considered dangerously strained. According to many experts, the United States views China's military modernization, mercantilist policies, and authoritarian shift with mounting concern, while China sees US i...

🍺 Older Americans are drinking more than ever. 🍷

In 2020, alcohol accounted for over 11,000 deaths among those 65 and older, an 18% increase from the previous year.

Dr. Keith Humphreys of Stanford Health Policy joins Ray Suarez on his to discuss why Baby Boomers are drinking so much, and what can be done.

New Habits in Our Old Age For the most part, the world has gone back to normal. We’re getting on planes… going to concerts… but many Americans haven’t changed their pandemic drinking hab

"Putin's generation has made their peace with being cut off from the West. But the younger generation isn't necessarily happy or contented with that. And that's where the real hope for Russia is." — Kathryn Stoner on

The future of Russia and Ukraine Political scientist Kathryn Stoner is the Director of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford and an authority on Russia...

Better national security starts with better kindergarten, argues FSI Senior Fellow Amy Zegart.

Read more of her latest in Foreign Affairs on what America needs to do to re-establish its competitive edge in an age where knowledge is power.

The Crumbling Foundations of American Strength Knowledge is power—and the United States is losing it.

With its successful incursion into Kursk, Ukraine has brought the war to Russia. Now what?

FSI Director Michael McFaul joins journalists Illia Ponomarenko and Greg Myre on KQED Forum to discuss Kyiv's strategy and the response from Washington and Moscow.

🎧 LISTEN NOW ⏯️

After Ukraine Invades Russia, Analysts Assess Risks | KQED Ukraine has brought the war to Russia. Its incursion on Aug. 6 into the Kursk region marks the largest invasion of Russia since World War II. It also marks a shift in strategy for Ukraine and carries significant risks. We’ll talk about what Ukraine’s incursion signals at this point in the war .....

As long as LLMs lack the ability to internalize, there is no guarantee that their choices will be safe or ethical when making high-stakes decisions about military capabilities, cautions Max Lamparth, a postdoc at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC).

Why the Military Can’t Trust AI Large Language Models can make bad decisions—and could trigger nuclear war.

Psychedelic drugs are surging in popular culture as a treatment for mental afflictions, but the therapeutic claims about many of these drugs have not been evaluated in any studies of even modest rigor, cautions Dr. Keith Humphreys.

🧠 READ MORE: https://ow.ly/2s3s50T47Cf

"Whether through a childish meme or via apparently respectful communication, over the internet or in a closed-door meeting, threats by powerful executives should not be accepted. The bullies should not be allowed to win."

— Marietje Schaake via Financial Times

Political leaders must push back against tech bullies Companies should pay the price for their aggression

Why are some immigrants welcomed and others vilified? New research by Kiyoteru Tsutsui and colleagues uncovers that geopolitical rivalries and alliances significantly shape how citizens perceive newcomers to their communities.

New Study Reveals Geopolitical Rivalries Shape Attitudes Toward Immigrants New Study Reveals Geopolitical Rivalries Shape Attitudes Toward Immigrants Breadcrumb All Shorenstein APARC News News August 20, 2024 New Study Reveals Geopolitical Rivalries Shape Attitudes Toward Immigrants Researchers including Stanford sociologist Kiyoteru Tsutsui, the deputy director of APARC a...

Even as interest in using AI in nuclear policy discussion grows, Lindsay Rand, a postdoc at the Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), cautions that a rush to adopt may divert attention from other critical nuclear policy issues, or even further entrench diplomatic roadblocks.

The Risk of Bringing AI Discussions Into High-Level Nuclear Dialogues Overly generalized discussions on the emerging technology may be unproductive or even undermine consensus to reduce nuclear risks at a time when such consensus is desperately needed.

Tech executives have increasingly resorted to threatening officials and governments over democratically legitimate proposals that don’t suit their business models, and it's time for political leaders to push back, says Marietje Schaake. Read more in Financial Times.

Political leaders must push back against tech bullies Companies should pay the price for their aggression

Want better, stronger national security? Get better, stronger funding and educational reform for kindergartens, teachers, and public education, says Amy Zegart. Read more in Foreign Affairs

The Crumbling Foundations of American Strength Knowledge is power—and the United States is losing it.

All that is gold does not glitter. Writing for the Korea Economic Institute, FSI Lecturer Daniel Sneider examines how controversies over the status of the Sado Gold Mines indicates vulnerabilities in the improvement of Japan-South Korea relations.

The Sado Gold Mine Decision: Is Compromise Over History Possible? - Korea Economic Institute of America A troubling question remains whether the historical past of Japan’s colonial rule over Korea will again roil relations.

💬 INTERVIEW | Rose Gottemoeller joins Visegrad Insight to discuss how the U.S. presidential election and Putin's unpredictable nuclear posturing could shape the future of NATO and its ability to deter and defend.

NATO’s Future Amid Trump’s Games and Putin’s Nuclear Threat - INTERVIEW As NATO faces challenges from Trump’s transactional approach and Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling, former Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller discusses the alliance’s future and Romania’s precarious position on the Eastern Flank.

Delegation is not anathema to democracy, but a functionality that Congress has used since the earliest days of the republic to address complex tasks.

Francis Fukuyama explains more in Persuasion.

What's Really Wrong with the "Deep State" Part I Purging career civil servants will not make government more democratic.

AI-assisted mental health care is becoming trendy, but a cross-disciplinary study by Declan Grabb, Max Lamparth, and Nina Vasan finds that existing models are highly insufficient compared to the standard provided by human professionals.

📄 READ HERE: https://ow.ly/iSOG50T0KgV

During South Korea's annual Liberation Day commemorations, President Yoon Suk-yeol offered a new vision of unification with North Korea based on "liberation" rather than "engagement."

FSI Lecturer Daniel Sneider unpacks the implications of this shift for the Korea Economic Institute.

President Yoon’s Vision of Unification: Liberation, not Engagement - Korea Economic Institute of America South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol offered a dramatically different vision of Korean unification in his Liberation Day speech on August 15.

As the U.S. joins 22 other nations in an OAS National Office in Belize resolution supporting the democratic process in , Fisher Family Summer Hector Fuentes rejoins Francis Fukuyama to give an update on how activists are doing on the ground.

Update on the fraudulent Venezuelan election Hector Fuentes is an activist working with democratic opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez. He explains the basis for the opposition...

In need of some weekend reading? Check out the library of working papers by the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions for suggestions on how to curtail Russia's war-fighting capabilities.

The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions Expert analysis and commentary by Stanford scholars on the Ukraine-Russia crisis.

The lack of a significant response from Russia to Ukraine's incursion in is "striking," says Michael McFaul, who hypothesizes that Putin has "no answer so far" for how to liberate his own territory.

Putin faces dilemma on Kursk after ‘tremendous’ blow from Ukraine, says ex-ambassador Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said in a Wednesday interview that Ukraine’s offensive inside Russia’s Kursk region is dealing a “tremendous” blow to the country’s leader, Preside…

To delegate or not to delegate? That is the question Francis Fukuyama takes on in his latest essay in Persuasion on why career civil servants are a boon to democracy, not its doom.

What's Really Wrong with the "Deep State" Part I Purging career civil servants will not make government more democratic.

Overdose deaths in San Francisco are now at their lowest level since January 2020, a trend Keith Humphreys of Stanford Health Policy attributes to fading he**in use and the waning COVID-19 pandemic.

San Francisco Overdose Deaths Fall to Lowest Level Since Pre-Pandemic | KQED The city reported 39 deaths from accidental overdose in July, the first time the figure has dipped below 40 since January 2020, offering some hope amid the opioid crisis.

📑 The Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies -Stanford Sustainable Democracy Roundtable 2024 Conference Report is now available: https://bit.ly/3M71V3l

With insights from FSI scholars Michael McFaul, Larry Diamond, Francis Fukuyama, Gi-Wook Shin, Kiyoteru Tsutsui, and more.

KFAS-Stanford Sustainable Democracy Roundtable 2024 Conference Report KFAS-Stanford Sustainable Democracy Roundtable 2024 Conference Report Breadcrumb All Korea Program Publications Reports KFAS-Stanford Sustainable Democracy Roundtable 2024 Conference Report August 12, 2024 Download pdf Image In partnership with the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies, the Shorenst...

" is a tremendous psychological blow to Putin because he’s supposed to be the protector. He’s supposed to be the strong man defending Russia against the West, defending Russia against Ukraine. And now for a second time in as many years, he has failed to do so." — Michael McFaul via The Hill

Putin faces dilemma on Kursk after ‘tremendous’ blow from Ukraine, says ex-ambassador Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, said in a Wednesday interview that Ukraine’s offensive inside Russia’s Kursk region is dealing a “tremendous” blow to the country’s leader, Preside…