Conflict between Hamas and Israel; the ongoing war in Ukraine; rising tensions between China and Taiwan; climate change; dissatisfaction with national politics. These are some of the most pressing challenges facing the world today. What do we need to understand better about these issues, and what can be done to address them?

On this episode of World Class, host Michael McFaul brings you a conversation with four scholars from the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies held during Stanford University's 2023 Reunion and Homecoming. Together they unpack what's at stake, how these challenges are related, and offer policy recommendations for how to solve them.

Featuring:

Michael McFaul, Director and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in the Department of Political Science; the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia.

Marshall Burke, Deputy Director at the Center on Food Security and the Environment; an associate professor in the Doerr School of Sustainability, and a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

Larry Diamond, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow of Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and a professor, by courtesy, of sociology and of political science.

Didi Kuo, Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and associate director for research at its Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law.

Amichai Magen, the inaugural Visiting Fellow in Israel Studies at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies; In Israel, a senior lecturer (U.S. associate professor), head of the MA Program in Diplomacy & Conflict Studies, and director of the Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD) at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy, Reichman University.