Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul spoke about preserving democracy in the United States and abroad during a virtual discussion hosted by the Mansfield Center at the University of Montana. The discussion covered the state of democracy in America and bridging the rural and urban divide, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, spreading democracy in former Soviet states and reimagining trade and the supply chain. 

Stephen welcomes Ambassador Michael McFaul, actress Denée Benton, and a live performance by Father John Misty.

On October 7, we hosted Secretary of State Antony Blinken upon his travels to Stanford, California, to meet with former Secretaries of State and attend a memorial service for former Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) was honored to host the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, for an address on U.S.-Ukrainian relations. President Zelensky's visit to Stanford followed his August 31 meeting with United States President Joe Biden, and marks the first visit to California by a Ukrainian president.

Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute was honored to host Belarus’s Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya -- first, at my home over dinner with a group of FSI scholars, and then on campus for our first in-person roundtable since March 2020. We engaged with the leader of democratic Belarus on broad range of topics, including the future of democracy in her country, lessons that can be learned from other democratic transitions, and the role of the United States and Europe in supporting democracy in Belarus, the region, and the world. You can watch the video of roundtable here and check out photos below!