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Michael McFaul

WSB Exclusive Speaker

U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014); Stanford Professor and Hoover Institution Senior Fellow; Washington Post Columnist; NBC News Analyst

A recognized expert on Russia, U.S.-Russia relations, great power competition, and American foreign policy around the world, Michael McFaul helps audiences understand the war in Ukraine, the new Cold War with Russia and lessons from the Cold War for managing great power competition with China and Russia today. 

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Michael McFaul'S SPEAKING FEE $25K - $40K

Michael McFaul Profile Photo

Michael McFaul is the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in Political Science, Director and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995. He is also an international affairs analyst for NBC News and writes a weekly column on global affairs at McFaul’s World on Substack.

McFaul served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014). He was also the Distinguished Mingde Faculty Fellow at the Stanford Center at Peking University in the summer of 2015, where he returned for the summer of 2019, and spring of 2024.

McFaul has authored and co-authored several books, including the New York Times bestseller, From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia.  He next book is Autocrats versus Democrats: China, Russia, and the New World Order, to be published in 2025 by Harper Collins. His current research interests include great power relations between China, Russia, and the United States, the relationship between democracy and development, and American foreign policy.

Prof. McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and his M.A. in Soviet 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.

Featured Videos

Michael McFaul Profile Photo
Michael McFaul

Michael McFaul: How a Political Shift in Ukraine Changed Russia’s Relationship

Michael McFaul Profile Photo
Michael McFaul

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul

Michael McFaul: How a Political Shift in Ukraine Changed Russia’s Relationship

Michael McFaul on How the War in Ukraine Affects United States Security

Michael McFaul on the Russia – Ukraine Conflict: Analysis and Outlook

The Putin Files: Michael McFaul

Why do Trump and Putin get along so well? | Michael McFaul | TEDxStanford

Ambassador Michael McFaul: A Brief History of Russia – Clip 1

Ambassador Michael McFaul: A Brief History of Russia – Clip 2

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul

Michael McFaul’s Speech Topics

  • American Foreign Policy in the Second Trump Era

    In this presentation, Michael McFaul will explore President Trump’s approach to American foreign policy through a historical lens, situating it within the context of major American foreign policy traditions of the last three centuries. He will review the major debates between isolationists versus internationalists, unilateralists versus multilateralists, and realists versus liberals. McFaul will also assess the factors that will empower and constrain President Trump and his administration in pursing their foreign policy agenda. A detailed analysis of policies concerning Asia, Europe, and the Middle East will conclude the discussion.

  • The Causes and Consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War

    In this talk, McFaul first explains the drivers of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. He then assess the results of the war so far, speculates about how it might end, and explains why we should care. To answer these questions, McFaul combines analytic and historical insights from his thirty years of academic research and government experience on Russia, Ukraine, and the United States with unique insights from his personal interactions with Russian President Putin, Ukrainian President Zelensky, U.S. President Biden, and President Trump. 

  • Great Power Competition in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Cold War for Dealing with China and Russia Today

    In this talk, McFaul first compares the power, ideology, and visions of global order of the United States, China, and Russia. He next compares what is similar and different between great power competition today and the Cold War. He ends with a set of prescriptions for how the United States can manage and win this current era of great power conflict, in part by avoiding some mistakes from the Cold War, but also in part by learning from some successes from the Cold War.  

What other organizations say about Michael McFaul

He was one of our most agreeable speakers and so organized in his message. His insight into Russia was enlightening. His information on 200 years of history and his comments regarding the fact that this was not a partisan debate truly hit home with all of us!

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