Join us for a special event with former ambassador and New York Times best-selling author Michael McFaul as he discusses his latest book: “Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America and the New Global Disorder.” Ambassador McFaul will provide remarks, and a fireside chat with audience Q&A will follow.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Columbia, SC.)
October 22, 2025
Location:
Darla Moore School of Business, 1014 Greene Street, Columbia, SC 29208
Michael McFaul in Conversation with Rachel Maddow (Cambridge, MA.)
October 30, 2025
Location:
First Parish Church, 1446 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA.
Harvard Book Store welcomes Michael McFaul—Stanford professor, former U.S. ambassador to Russia, and international affairs analyst—for a discussion of his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder, in conversation with Rachel Maddow of MSNBC.
Tickets include admission for one and one hardcover copy of Autocrats vs. Democrats, pre-signed by Michael McFaul.
Michael McFaul at TEDxMidAtlantic 2025 (Washington, D.C.)
November 1, 2025
Location:
Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St NW, Washington, D.C.
Join to hear Michael McFaul and more than a dozen other speakers at TEDxMidAtlantic. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. This years theme, FAST FORWARD, acknowledges the disorientation we all feel as a result of rapid technological and cultural acceleration, while also embracing optimism for a better future.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Hudson, OH.)
November 5, 2025
Location:
Hudson Library and Historical Society, 96 Library Street, Hudson, Ohio.
The Hudson Library & Historical Society hosts Michael McFaul for a discussion of his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats, a timely look at the challenges posed by Russia, China, and the global struggle between democracy and autocracy.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Erie, PA.)
November 6, 2025
Location:
Gannon University, Yehl Ballroom, Waldron Campus Center, 628 Peach St, Erie, PA.
Michael McFaul—Stanford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia—explores his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder, offering a bold vision for democracy in a world defined by rising autocracies.
Book Tour Dinner: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Palm Springs, CA.)
November 9, 2025
Location:
Thunderbird Country Club, 70-737 Country Club Dr, Rancho Mirage, CA
Join Michael McFaul, Stanford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, as he discusses the ideas from his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats, offering a timely look at the challenges posed by Russia, China, and the global struggle between democracy and autocracy.
The New Global Disorder with Ambassador Michael McFaul (Virtual)
November 12, 2025
Location:
Online
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul joins us on WorldNow with Jim Falk to explore the global rise of autocracy, new challenges posed by an assertive Russia and China, and an increasingly insular America – and what it all means for democracy and security in a changing world.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Dallas, TX.)
November 16, 2025
Location:
Haynes Boone, 2801 N. Harwood Street, Suite 2300, Dallas, TX.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul joins the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth to examine the disruptive ambitions of Putin’s Russia, the global rise of China, and how shifts in America’s role on the world stage are reshaping international affairs.
Power in a Changing World: America, China, and Russia (Santa Fe, NM.)
November 17, 2025
Location:
New Mexico Military Museum, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, Santa Fe
Michael McFaul, Stanford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia, explores the ideas in his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats and offers a bold vision for democracy in a world defined by rising autocracies.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (San Francisco, CA.)
November 18, 2025
Location:
The Commonwealth Club, 110 The Embarcadero, San Francisco
Join me in San Francisco as I explore the ideas in my new book and outline a bold new vision for America’s grand strategy in an era defined by global upheaval.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Pullman, WA.)
December 3, 2025
Location:
Foley Speaker’s Room, 308 Bryan Hall, Bryan Hall, 605 Veterans Way, Pullman, WA.
Michael McFaul—Stanford professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia—explores his new book Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder, offering a bold vision for democracy in a world defined by rising autocracies.
Book Tour: Autocrats vs. Democrats (Stanford, CA.)
December 8, 2025
Location:
Hauck Auditorium, Traitel Building, 435 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA.
Join us for a book talk and signing with Professor Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, New York Times bestselling author, and former U.S. ambassador to Russia.
Past Events
Russia: Looking Back and Looking Ahead
December 14, 2016
Location:
Bechtel Conference Center
About the Event: The state of affairs between the U.S. and Russia has worsened in recent years, due to conflicts in the Ukraine and Syria, and elsewhere. A panel of four top Russia experts will discuss the U.S.-Russia relationship at a time when it seems the bleakest since the end of the Cold War...
Annual Walter Roberts Lecture - Explaining Our New Cold War with Russia
March 3, 2017
Location:
George Washington University
Since 2011, the Walter Roberts Endowment has hosted an annual lecture with a prominent and distinguished foreign policy figure at GW. Free and open to the public, the lecture provides a platform for students, faculty, and public diplomacy practitioners to hear different perspectives on issues...
Conference: "Global Populisms: A Threat to Democracy?"
November 3, 2017
Location:
Encina Hall, Stanford
In the upcoming conference, “Global Populisms: A Threat to Democracy?” we will focus on the following critical issues: conceptualizing the threat, how do populisms arise and succeed, populism in America, is there a “populist international”, constructing economic threats.
Global Crisis and the American Dream – America First or America as a World Leader?
March 26, 2018
Location:
Monterey Conference Center
The twenty-first annual Leon Panetta Lecture Series, 2018 – Is the American Dream Alive and Well?, continues Monday evening, March 26, at the Monterey Conference Center at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are available and can be purchased by calling the Panetta Institute at 831-582-4200. Institute Chairman Leon E...
Princeton: Amb. Michael McFaul, Director, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University: former U.S. Ambassador to Russia
April 11, 2018
Location:
Robertson Hall
World Affairs Council Los Angeles
April 11, 2018
Location:
The Intercontinental Hotel 2151 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles CA 90067
While the Cold War may have ended in 1991, Michael McFaul, former US Ambassador to Russia, says that it really just transitioned to a “hot peace”. McFaul, one of America’s top experts on post-Soviet Russia, will speak about the turbulent past and future of the US-Russia relationship at a LAWAC...
Roosevelt House
May 8, 2018
Location:
Roosevelt House (47-49 East 65th Street, NY NY 10065)
*Free and Open to the public
Carnegie Council
May 9, 2018
Location:
Carnegie Council in New York. 170 East 64th Street, NY, NY
*Ticketed, Open to the Public
NYU with Stephen Cohen
May 9, 2018
Location:
Teatro Casa Italiana (Columbia. 1161 Amsterdam Ave, NY, NY 10027)
Free and Open to the Public, Registration Required
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
May 10, 2018
Location:
1779 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
*Registration Required, Open to the Public
Council on Foreign Relations - NYC
May 11, 2018
Location:
Council on Foreign Relations (58 East 68th Street, New York, New York 10065)
*CFR members only (will be livestreamed for the public)
Politics and Prose Bookstore
May 13, 2018
Location:
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC, 20008
Politics and Prose Bookstore: : Michael McFaul - From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia
This event is free to attend with no reservation required. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis.
Stanford
May 14, 2018
Location:
Cubberley Auditorium, 485 Lasuen Mall
From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia
From one of America’s leading scholars of Russia who served as U.S. ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration, a revelatory, inside account of U.S.-Russia relations from 1989 to the present
In 2008, when Michael McFaul...
Harvard Bookstore
May 16, 2018
Location:
Harvard Book Store 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02138
Harvard Book Store welcomes acclaimed Russian scholar and Stanford professor MICHAEL MCFAUL for a discussion of his latest book, From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia.
About From Cold War to Hot Peace
In 2008, when Michael McFaul was asked to leave his perch at...
San Francisco Commonwealth Club
May 22, 2018
Location:
Commonwealth Club 110 The Embarcadero San Francisco, CA 94105
Michael McFaul, Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia; Author, From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia; Twitter: @McFaul
Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union 27 years ago, Russia has been both a central figure in our foreign relations and a surprise actor in our...
World Affairs Council Seattle
May 23, 2018
Location:
About Us Events Contribute World Affairs Council 2200 Alaskan Way Suite 450 Seattle, WA 98121
Registration required, open to the public
World Affairs Council Orange County
May 24, 2018
Location:
“From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia”
*Premium members luncheon
World Affairs Council Los Angeles
May 24, 2018
Location:
The Intercontinental Hotel 2151 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles CA 90067
Ticketed, open to the public
Elliott Lecture - From Cold War to Hot Peace: an American ambassador in Putin's Russia
June 4, 2018
Location:
Oxford, Investcorp Auditorium
World Affairs Council San Francisco
June 7, 2018
Location:
World Affairs, 312 Sutter Street, Suite 200, San Francisco
*Ticketed, open to the public
Populism and Immigration Workshop
June 8, 2018
Location:
Encina Hall, Stanford
Bozeman, Montana. Author Event - From Cold War to Hot Peace
July 22, 2018
Location:
Country Bookshelf 28 W Main St, Bozeman, Montana 59715
Duke: From Cold War to Hot Peace, A Conversation with Ambassador Michael McFaul
September 5, 2018
Location:
Duke University, Sanford 04
For more details: https://sanford.duke.edu/policy-connect/events/cold-war-hot-peace-conve…
Book Talk at Santa Clara University
October 11, 2018
Location:
Williman Room, Benson Memorial Center
Russian Intervention in the 2016 Election: Separating Fact from Fiction
March 12, 2019
Location:
Dave Finkelman Auditorium, Middletown Campus 4200 N University Blvd, Middletown, OH 45042
Casper Lecture Series Presents Michael McFaul -- Russian Intervention in the 2016 Election: Separating Fact from Fiction
Michael A. McFaul served as Ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation from January, 2012, to February, 2014. Prior to becoming Ambassador, he served...