How do Ukrainians assess the performance and prospects of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, now five months in office, as he tackles the country’s two largest challenges: resolving the war with Russia and implementing economic and anti-corruption reforms? In two words: cautious optimism.
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Why care about Ukraine and the Budapest Memorandum
Commentary / December 5, 2019
Original written for Brookings.Com
Since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine, the United States has provided Ukraine with $3 billion in reform and military assistance and $3 billion in loan guarantees. U.S. troops in western Ukraine train their Ukrainian colleagues. Washington, in concert with the European Union, has taken steps to isolate Moscow politically and imposed a series of economic and visa sanctions on Russia and Russians.
Post-political uncertainties: Governing nuclear controversies in post-Fukushima Japan
News / November 21, 2019
How to End the War in Ukraine
Commentary / November 21, 2019
For more than five years, Russian forces and their proxies have waged a bloody war against Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. The conflict has claimed more than 13,000 lives, driven almost two million people from their homes, and caused immense material damage. France and Germany have together sought to broker peace but failed to produce a durable cease-fire—let alone a political settlement....
Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter Reflects on Government and Tech and Discusses Why Young People Should Pursue a Career in Public Service
News / November 19, 2019
Two former Department of Defense (DoD) officials shared the stage at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), where they discussed the decision to remove U.S. troops from northern Syria, women in the military, and the importance of public service.
Congress, Nord Stream II, and Ukraine
News / November 12, 2019
Congress has long weighed sanctions as a tool to block the Nord Stream II gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. Unfortunately, it has mulled the question too long, and time has run out. With some 85% of the pipeline already laid, new congressional sanctions aimed at companies participating in the pipeline’s construction will not stop it. Instead, they will become a new bone of contention between the United States and Europe.
5G and Security: There is More to Worry about than Huawei
Commentary / November 12, 2019
Given much of the recent coverage surrounding security and the fifth generation (5G) of cellular networks, you would be forgiven for assuming that security concerns are largely limited to China in general and Huawei in particular.
This is not the case.
Order from Chaos: Five months into Ukrainian President Zelenskiy’s term, there are reasons for optimism and caution
News / November 8, 2019
Editor's Note: The observations in this article are based on the author’s conversations with Ukrainians, both inside and outside of government, and others in Kyiv during an October 31-November 2, 2019 visit.
An Indian Nuclear Power Plant Suffered a Cyberattack. Here’s What You Need to Know.
Commentary / November 4, 2019
Authorities don’t seem to understand the real threat from cyber-operations.
Brett McGurk Recounts the Fight Against ISIS and Considers the Future Of Northern Syria
News / November 1, 2019
Following the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and the decision by President Donald Trump to remove U.S. troops from northern Syria, there are many questions surrounding the future of the region, which is controlled in part by Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists, former Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS Brett McGurk told Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Director Michael McFaul on the World Class podcast.
It's Time To Get U.S. Nukes Out Of Turkey
Commentary / October 30, 2019
U.S.-Turkish relations have plunged to a new nadir. In the past month, a senior Republican senator has suggested suspending Turkey’s membership in the NATO alliance, while the secretary of state implied a readiness to use military force against America’s wayward ally.
In these circumstances, U.S. nuclear weapons have no business in Turkey. It is time to bring them home.
Former NATO Deputy Secretary General Named Payne Distinguished Lecturer
News / October 16, 2019
The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University is pleased to announce that Rose Gottemoeller has been appointed the next Frank E. and Arthur W. Payne Distinguished Lecturer. She will spend the next three years at Stanford working with FSI’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and will simultaneously be a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Joe Biden’s Former National Security Advisor Explains What Actually Happened Between the Former Vice President and Ukraine
News / October 15, 2019
When Colin Kahl came on board as Vice President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor in 2014, the situation in Ukraine was one of a few “crisis issues” that Biden and his staff were tasked with ameliorating by former President Barack Obama, Kahl told Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) Director Michael McFaul on the World Class podcast.
Former Ukrainian Ambassador Steven Pifer Breaks Down the Trump-Zelensky Phone Call
News / October 2, 2019
Although the first in-person meeting between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on September 25 at the United Nations General Assembly looked like a “normal first meeting,” the question of whether Trump was pushing Zelensky during a July 25 phone call to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden remains, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Steven Pifer told Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) Director Michael McFaul on the World Class podcast.
Policy Roundtable: The Future of South Asia
Commentary / October 1, 2019
Debak Das, CISAC’s MacArthur Nuclear Security Pre-doctoral Fellow, and his roundtable contributors examine the rising tensions between Pakistan and India and look at what the future might hold for the region. “Political relations in South Asia have hit rough weather,” writes Das. “So where does the nuclear relationship between India and Pakistan stand? Where do the key threats to peace in the region come from?”
CISAC Team Releases Satellite Imaging-Based Study of North Korean Uranium Mines
Q&A / September 20, 2019
North Korea currently has only one publicly known uranium mine—the Pyongsăn uranium mining and milling complex—that serves as a first step in the country’s pathway towards nuclear weapons.
The Death of the INF Treaty Has Given Birth to New Missile Possibilities
Commentary / September 18, 2019
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty came to an end in August. The United States and Russia no longer are barred from developing and deploying land-based, intermediate-range missiles, and the Pentagon apparently aims to deploy such missiles in Europe and Asia.
Heading for (Another) Ukraine-Russia Gas Fight?
Commentary / September 3, 2019
Twice in the past 14 years, a dispute between Ukraine and Russia has led Russia to cut off natural gas flows to Ukraine and Europe. The stage is being set for another cut-off in January. The European Union wants to ensure that gas continues to flow, so EU officials will attempt at a mid-September meeting to broker an agreement. But they face a difficult slog.
THE LOOMING CONFLICT