Published by Hoover Institution
Talks and interviews from Hoover Institution events.
Listen on Apple PodcastsThe Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions on Thursday, May 14, from 4:00 to 4:50 PM PT in Hauck Auditorium held a panel discussion on The Peril and Promise of Local Journalism in American Democracy. News media have undergone massive change in recent decades. A variety of new information platforms have emerged, while traditional news outlets have at times struggled to make the transition into a digital-native era. These developments have been particularly acute at the local level, where many Americans now live in “news deserts.” Our eminent panelists discuss how these developments have fundamentally altered American politics, including regional disparities in representation, the accountability of government officials, and electoral campaigns. Additionally, we consider how the changes have shaped journalists’ responsibilities and media innovations.
The Hoover's History Lab and Center for Revitalizing American Institutions held National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, a special book launch with the author, Michael Auslin on Tuesday, May 26, 2026 from 4:00 - 5:15 p.m. PT. The inspiring story of the Declaration of Independence —the first to take us from its drafting by Thomas Jefferson to today— charts the many lives of a document that captures the soul of America on the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding. An award-winning historian, Michael Auslin takes us from the boarding house in Philadelphia where Jefferson put quill to paper to the Declaration’s covert signing and its long, harrowing, and ultimately hallowed afterlife. We follow the parchment as it is hauled out of a soon-to-be-burning Washington in 1814 and see it hidden in a dank cellar, posted in classrooms, printed on handkerchiefs, and used to sell insurance and bundle coal. Through it all, Jefferson’s words have inspired implausibly varied causes, from suffragists and civil rights leaders to groups waging war on the US government. As Jefferson had hoped, the principles enshrined in the Declaration became a beacon to the world. But what lessons should we take from it today? Can this statement of ideals in whose name the signers pledged their lives and sacred honor bring a disparate nation together? As we gather to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founders’ bold experiment in democracy, Auslin reminds us that this enduring document was not just a call for freedom and equality but an eloquent statement of the principles that bind us together.
The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosts "Can Civic Education be Liberal?" with Melinda Zook, Joseph Knippenberg, Benjamin Storey, and Dan Edelstein on Wednesday, May 13, 2026, from 9:00–10:00 a.m. PT. Civic education and liberal education are often treated as complementary, but their aims can diverge in important ways. This webinar explores how efforts to prepare students for democratic citizenship intersect with, and at times strain against, the broader aims of liberal education, including open inquiry, intellectual autonomy, and critical skepticism. Panelists will consider how institutions can navigate these tensions while advancing a coherent vision of civic learning in higher education.
The Hoover Institution in DC hosts Ideas Uncorked: Competing Systems: U.S. Strategy in the Age of Chinese Authoritarianism on Tuesday, May 5 from 5:00–6:30 pm ET. The event features Elizabeth Economy, Sarah Beran, Matt Turpin, and Miles Yu. FEATURING Elizabeth Economy , Hargrove Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution Sarah Beran, former Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for China and Taiwan Affairs Matt Turpin , former NSC Director for China and Senior Advisor on China to the Secretary of Commerce and Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution Miles Yu , former China Policy Advisor to the Secretary of State and Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution
Taiwan is where the uneasy peace between the United States and China will be tested--and possibly broken. Beijing believes that "reunification" is inevitable. American military strength has preserved peace and stability for decades, but its advantages are eroding. Beijing has found critical gaps in U.S. strategy and is working to squeeze, isolate, and coerce Taiwan into submission without firing a shot. If deterrence fails, the consequences of a Taiwan crisis would be catastrophic--plunging the global economy into chaos, shattering U.S. alliances, and allowing China to dominate the region and reshape the world order. In Defending Taiwan, Eyck Freymann presents the first integrated strategy to deter war with China and preserve an honorable peace. Drawing on untranslated Chinese sources, military and economic analysis, and deep historical research, Freymann argues that Washington's deterrence strategy must extend beyond conventional military power and familiar threats of mutually assured destruction. America must work with allies to develop a bold new vision of technological and economic statecraft--and a plan to secure its interests if deterrence fails. Freymann examines China's full range of strategic options. The United States can deter them all. But to do so, it must integrate its military strength, economic leverage, technological leadership, and diplomatic influence into a single, coherent plan to prevent war.
The Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions webinar series features speakers who are developing innovative ideas, conducting groundbreaking research, and taking important actions to improve trust and efficacy in American institutions. Speaker expertise and topics span governmental institutions, civic organizations and practice, and the role of public opinion and culture in shaping our democracy. The webinar series builds awareness about how we can individually and collectively revitalize American institutions to ensure our country’s democracy delivers on its promise. The Hoover Institution's Center for Revitalizing American Institutions held an engaging conversation on Understanding the Civilian-Military Relationship in American Democracy with General Christopher G. Cavoli, US Army (Ret.), General Joseph F. Dunford Jr., USMC (Ret.), and Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster on May 6, 2026, from 10:00-11:00 a.m. PT. This webinar explores the evolving relationship between civilian leadership and the military in the United States—a cornerstone of democratic governance. Drawing on historical context, recent case studies, and expert analysis, the discussion examines how mutual trust, accountability, and respect for constitutional norms sustain healthy civil-military dynamics. Participants gain insight into current challenges, including political polarization, public perceptions of the armed forces, and the appropriate role of military voices in national security and domestic affairs. The session aims to deepen understanding of how civil-military balance reinforces both national security and democratic resilience.
Taiwan is where the uneasy peace between the United States and China will be tested--and possibly broken. Beijing believes that "reunification" is inevitable. American military strength has preserved peace and stability for decades, but its advantages are eroding. Beijing has found critical gaps in U.S. strategy and is working to squeeze, isolate, and coerce Taiwan into submission without firing a shot. If deterrence fails, the consequences of a Taiwan crisis would be catastrophic--plunging the global economy into chaos, shattering U.S. alliances, and allowing China to dominate the region and reshape the world order. In Defending Taiwan, Eyck Freymann presents the first integrated strategy to deter war with China and preserve an honorable peace. Drawing on untranslated Chinese sources, military and economic analysis, and deep historical research, Freymann argues that Washington's deterrence strategy must extend beyond conventional military power and familiar threats of mutually assured destruction. America must work with allies to develop a bold new vision of technological and economic statecraft--and a plan to secure its interests if deterrence fails. Freymann examines China's full range of strategic options. The United States can deter them all. But to do so, it must integrate its military strength, economic leverage, technological leadership, and diplomatic influence into a single, coherent plan to prevent war. For more information about the Hoover Applied History Working Group, visit: https://www.hoover.org/research-teams/applied-history-working-group
The Hoover Institution hosts Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War With China on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 from 5:00-6:30 pm PT. The book launch began with a welcome reception, followed by a conversation with Eyck Freymann , Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and Rush Doshi , C.V. Starr Senior Fellow for Asia Studies and Director of the China Strategy Initiative at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosts "Historical Thinking and Democratic Citizenship" with Mary Clark, Suzanne Marchand, Jeffrey Collins, and Jonathan Gienapp on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, from 9:00–10:00 a.m. PT. Where does history fit within broader efforts to renew civic education in higher education? What can the historical method contribute to the development of civic competencies? And in an era of polarized historical memory, how can colleges and universities teach history in ways that strengthen democratic culture? This session examines the distinctive contributions of historical study in cultivating informed and engaged citizens. Panelists will consider how history departments and civic initiatives can collaborate to better align curricular goals and advance a shared vision for civic learning.
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 Hoover Institution, Stanford University The Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions webinar series features speakers who are developing innovative ideas, conducting groundbreaking research, and taking important actions to improve trust and efficacy in American institutions. Speaker expertise and topics span governmental institutions, civic organizations and practice, and the role of public opinion and culture in shaping our democracy. The webinar series builds awareness about how we can individually and collectively revitalize American institutions to ensure our country’s democracy delivers on its promise. On April 1, 2026, from 10:00 -11:30 a.m. PT., the Hoover Institution's Center for Revitalizing American Institutions, in partnership with the Hoover Technology Policy Accelerator, hosted an engaging conversation, In Science We Trust? Understanding Americans’ Confidence in Science, Scientists, and Scientific Institutions with Russ Altman, Mark Horowitz, Arthur Lupia, and Amy Zegart. This webinar examines how Americans think about and trust science in an era of rapid technological change, political polarization, and misinformation. Through data-driven analysis and discussion, panelists explore trends in public confidence toward scientists, the institutions that produce scientific knowledge, and the social and cultural factors that shape these attitudes. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of what strengthens or undermines trust in science—and what that means for policymaking, education, and the health of American democracy.
Thursday, March 26, 2026 Hoover Institution | Stanford University The Hoover History Lab hosted Rural Banditry and Boko Haram: Governance, Security, and International Engagement in Nigeria on Thursday, March 26, 2026. FEATURING Ebenezer Obadare Senior Fellow for Africa Studies | Council on Foreign Relations Ugochi Daniels Deputy Director for General Operations | International Organization for Migration Robin Renee Sanders Former US Ambassador to Nigeria
The Hoover Institution invites you to a virtual presentation of Wargaming the Pacific: Lessons from the Naval War College's Interwar Games on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, from 12:00-2:00 pm PT. This webinar examines the interwar wargames conducted at the U.S. Naval War College before World War II and their foundational role in shaping U.S. naval doctrine and strategic planning. We explore how these games contributed to America’s success in the Pacific Theater, their enduring impact on U.S. military effectiveness, and the remarkable archival materials preserved by the Naval War College.
Margaret Hoover moderated a conversation with General Jim Mattis, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, and Ryan Holiday, bestselling author and modern interpreter of Stoic philosophy, on the character that sustains a republic. Drawing on experience in military command, classical philosophy, and the enduring example of America’s founding generation, including their shared admiration for George Washington, the discussion explored the virtues that have defined American leadership at its best: discipline, moral courage, humility in the exercise of power, and a profound sense of duty. This live episode of Firing Line considered how those principles continue to define the American idea, and what they require of leaders and citizens alike in the decades ahead.
The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosts "Building Civic Unity in a Religiously Diverse Democracy" with Eboo Patel, Robert George, Fr. Francisco Nahoe, and Josh Ober on March 18, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT. Religious diversity is a defining feature of contemporary American democracy, yet it raises persistent questions about how civic unity is cultivated in shared public life. How can institutions of higher education prepare students to engage constructively across religious difference while sustaining common democratic commitments? This webinar explores the role of civic education in a religiously diverse democracy, examining pedagogical approaches, institutional frameworks, and normative principles that support civic unity without erasing pluralism.
The Hoover Institution Center for Revitalizing American Institutions webinar series features speakers who are developing innovative ideas, conducting groundbreaking research, and taking important actions to improve trust and efficacy in American institutions. Speaker expertise and topics span governmental institutions, civic organizations and practice, and the role of public opinion and culture in shaping our democracy. The webinar series builds awareness about how we can individually and collectively revitalize American institutions to ensure our country’s democracy delivers on its promise. The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) held a webinar—co-sponsored by the Stanford Constitutional Law Center —about Judicial Importance, Independence, and Legitimacy in Polarized Times with Michael McConnell, Tom Clark, Genevieve Lakier, and Eugene Volokh on March 4, 2026, from 10:00-11:30 a.m. PT. Have federal courts been too permissive—or too obstructive—of President Trump’s agenda? The answer often depends on one’s political perspective. Yet across the spectrum, there’s broad agreement that the courts have come under intense pressure and scrutiny in recent years. As the country has grown more politically sorted, the judiciary’s role in our system of self-governance has evolved and, for some, grown more contested. Join us for a timely and thought-provoking webinar featuring scholars with diverse viewpoints who explore how the federal courts are functioning—and perceived—amid today’s polarized political landscape. Panelists examine questions such as: What is the judiciary’s role in safeguarding democracy? How can courts maintain legitimacy in a divided society? And how should we interpret recent high-profile rulings in the broader context of American constitutionalism?
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Hoover Institution | Stanford University Hoover Institution fellow Niall Ferguson and Andrew Preston discuss Preston's latest book Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security.
Wednesday, March 11, 2026 Hoover Institution | Stanford University The Hoover Applied History Working Group held Total Defense: The New Deal and the Invention of National Security on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. ABOUT THE TALK National security may seem like a timeless notion. States have always sought to fortify themselves, and the modern state derives its legitimacy from protecting its population. Yet national security in fact has a very particular, very American, history—and a surprising one at that. The concept of national security originates in the 1930s, as part of a White House campaign in response to the rise of fascism. Before then, national self-defense was defined in terms of protecting sovereign territory from invasion. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his circle worried that the US public, comforted by two vast oceans, did not take seriously the long-term risks posed by hypermilitarization abroad. New Dealers developed the doctrine of national security, Andrew Preston argues, to supplant the old idea of self-defense: now even geographically and temporally remote threats were to be understood as harms to be combated, while ideological competitors were perilous to the “American way of life.” Total Defense shows it was no coincidence that a liberal like Roosevelt promoted this vision. National security, no less than social security, was a New Deal promise: the state was obliged to safeguard Americans as much from the guns and warships of Nazi Germany and imperial Japan as from unemployment and poverty in old age. The resulting shift in threat perception—among policymakers and ordinary citizens alike—transformed the United States, spearheading massive government expansion and placing the country on a permanent war footing.
The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosted "How Can Universities Strengthen Civic Education in K–12 Schools?" with Jennifer McNabb, Joshua Dunn, and Jenna Storey on March 4, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT. Universities are increasingly reexamining their role as incubators of effective citizenship. An essential yet often overlooked part of this work is strengthening K–12 civic education. This webinar explores how efforts within higher education can support civic learning in K–12 schools, with particular emphasis on the academy’s role in training the next generation of educators. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Meira Levinson is a political theorist/philosopher of education who is working to start a global field of educational ethics that is philosophically rigorous, disciplinarily and experientially inclusive, and both relevant to and informed by educational policy and practice. In doing so, she draws upon scholarship from multiple disciplines as well as her eight years of experience teaching middle school humanities, civics, history, and English in the Atlanta and Boston Public Schools. Meira has written or co-edited nine books, including Civic Contestation in Global Education and Educational Equity in a Global Context (both 2024, with Ellis Reid, Tatiana Geron, and Sara O’Brien), Instructional Moves for Powerful Teaching in Higher Education (2023, co-authored with Jeremy Murphy), Democratic Discord in Schools (2019, with Jacob Fay), winner of the 2020 AERA Moral Development and Education SIG Outstanding Book Award, and Dilemmas of Educational Ethics (2016, with Jacob Fay). Her book No Citizen Left Behind (2012) won awards in political science, philosophy, social studies, and education and has been translated into Chinese and Japanese . Meira shares educational ethics resources on JusticeinSchools.org , materials to support K-12 educators working in politically charged environments at Educational Values in Action, and resources for youth activists and teacher allies at YouthinFront.org . Each of these projects reflects Levinson's commitment to achieving productive cross-fertilization — without loss of rigor — among scholarship, policy, and practice. Meira earned a B.A. in philosophy from Yale and a D.Phil. in politics from Nuffield College, Oxford University. Her work has been supported by fellowships from Guggenheim, the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, and the National Academy of Education. Prior to joining the Stanford faculty, Meira taught at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Jennifer McNabb is Professor and Head of the Department of History at the University of Northern Iowa, where she teaches courses on early modern European history and the history of England. She was Co-Chair of UNI's Civic Education Task Force, which created UNI's Center for Civic Education, and she was Co-PI for a National Endowment for the Humanities Connections Grant that developed UNI's first civic education curriculum: "Civic Literacy, Engagement and the Humanities." McNabb is also a Co-PI of a national grant that will establish the Iowa Civic Educators Institute, providing professional development opportunities for in-service and pre-service social studies and history teachers throughout the state. McNabb has received several awards for her teaching and has completed four courses for The Teaching Company’s The Great Courses on the Renaissance, witchcraft, sex, and marriage. She currently serves as a Councilor in the Professional Division of the American Historical Association and as president of the Midwest Conference on British Studies. Joshua Dunn (PhD, University of Virginia) serves as Executive Director of the Institute of American Civics at the Howard H. Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. His research and teaching focus on constitutional law and history, education policy, federalism, and freedom of speech and religion. His books include Complex Justice: The Case of Missouri v. Jenkins (University of North Carolina Press), From Schoolhouse to Courthouse: The Judiciary’s Role in American Education (Brookings Institution Press) and Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University (Oxford University Press). Moderator Jenna Silber Storey is the Ravenel Curry Chair in Civic Thought in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies Division of the American Enterprise Institute, and Co-Director of AEI’s Center for the Future of the American University. She is also an SNF Agora Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and a Research Fellow at the Civitas Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. She previously taught political philosophy at Furman University, where she was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs, and Executive Director of Furman’s Tocqueville Program. Her writing has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, First Things, and The National Endowment for the Humanities flagship journal, Humanities. Dr. Storey is the co-author, with her husband Ben, of Why We Are Restless: On the Modern Quest for Contentment (Princeton University Press, 2021). They are currently working on a book titled The Art of Choosing: How Liberal Education Should Prepare You for Life.
The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosts "What Counts as Success? Assessing the Impact of Civics in Higher Ed" with Trygve Throntveit, Rachel Wahl, Joseph Kahne, and Peter Levine on February 18, 2026, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT. As higher education renews its commitment to civic education, questions about how to define and measure success have become increasingly urgent. This webinar examines the strengths and limitations of common metrics and considers how different measures reflect competing visions of civic purpose in higher education. Participants explore emerging frameworks for assessing civic learning and engagement, and discuss how institutions can align assessment practices with their educational missions and democratic goals. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Rachel Wahl is an associate professor in the Social Foundations Program, Department of Educational Leadership, Foundations, and Policy at the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia. She also serves as Director of the Good Life Political Project at the UVa Karsh Institute of Democracy. Her research focuses on learning through public dialogue between people on opposing sides of political divides. Her most recent book is Keeping Our Enemies Closer: Political Dialogue in Polarized Democracies (University of Pennsylvania Press, forthcoming October 2026). Her prior research focused on efforts by community activists to change police officers’ beliefs and behavior through activism and education, which is the subject of her first book, Just Violence: Torture and Human Rights in the Eyes of the Police (Stanford University Press, 2017). Her research has been funded by donors such as the Educating Character Initiative, the Spencer Foundation and National Academy of Education, the Carnegie Corporation, and the federal Institute of International Education. Joseph Kahne is the Ted and Jo Dutton Presidential Professor for Education Policy and Politics and Director of the Civic Engagement Research Group ( CERG ) at the University of California, Riverside. Professor Kahne's research focuses on the influence of school practices and digital media on youth civic and political development. For example, with funding from the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES), and in partnership with scholars from Ohio State, Brown, and UCR, CERG has launched and is studying the impact of Connecting Classrooms to Congress (CC2C). CC2C is a social studies curricular unit that enables students to learn and deliberate about a controversial societal issue and then participate in an online townhall with their Member of Congress. In addition, Kahne and CERG are currently studying the Educating for American Democracy Roadmap. This work takes place through a partnership with reformers and school districts in NM, OK, and LA. In addition to studying the impact of these curricular experiences on young people’s civic development, with John Rogers, we are currently devoting particular attention to the politics of democratic education. We are examining ways the political contexts of school districts shape possibilities for democratic education and the varied ways educators respond. Professor Kahne was Chair of the MacArthur Foundation’s Youth and Participatory Politics Research Network. Kahne was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. He currently chairs the Educating for American Democracy Research Task Force. Professor Kahne is a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. He can be reached at jkahne@ucr.edu and his work is available at https://www.civicsurvey.org/ Trygve Throntveit, PhD, was appointed Research Professor in Higher Education and Associate Director of the Center for Economic and Civic Learning (CECL) at Ball State University in August of 2025. During the previous five years, he served as Director of Strategic Partnership and Civic Renewal Programming at the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC), and as Global Fellow for History and Public Policy at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. At MHC, Dr. Throntveit expanded the Third Way Civics (3WC) initiative for undergraduate civic learning--which he first developed with partners at Ball State and Southeastern Universities in 2019--into a multi-state program, training dozens of faculty in Minnesota, Indiana, Florida, Missouri, and Montana to infuse student-centered, active civic learning into their regular courses and helping several colleges and universities build the original, US history and politics version of 3WC into their general curricula. As a result of his work on Third Way Civics, was selected by Campus Compact and the Civic Learning and Democracy Engagement coalition to co-author an upcoming guide to designing and implementing rigorous civic learning opportunities across the undergraduate curriculum, and has delivered presentations and workshops on 3WC and civic learning more generally across the United States as well as Austria, Germany, Japan, and Korea. Trained as a historian, Dr. Throntveit is an active scholar in the fields of history and political theory as well as civic learning, having published articles and books examining past and present developments in US politics, foreign policy, and social thought and served for eight years as editor of The Good Society, the journal of the transdisciplinary Civic Studies field. He has taught at Harvard University, Dartmouth College, and Minnesota State University-Mankato, and has overseen public humanities programs bringing communities into productive conversation across their differences on issues as diverse as election integrity, US-Tribal relations, and water use. Dr. Throntveit lives and works in Minneapolis, where oversees the increasingly national 3WC initiative and also directs the Twin Cities-based Institute for Public Life and Work, which he co-founded with Harry C. Boyte and Marie-Louise Strom in 2021. Moderator Peter Levine is a philosopher and political scientist who specializes on civic life and has helped to develop Civic Studies as an international intellectual movement. In the domain of civic education, Levine was a co-organizer and co-author of The Civic Mission of Schools (2003), The College, Career & Citizenship Framework for State Social Studies Standards (2013) and The Educating for American Democracy Roadmap (2021). He is also the author of eight books, including most recently We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: The Promise of Civic Renewal in America (Oxford University Press, 2013) and What Should We Do? A Theory of Civic Life (Oxford University Press, 2022).
The Hoover Institution's Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region held a public session on Resilient Realists: How Taiwan Navigates Its Future in a Turbulent World on March 2, 2026 from 1:00-2:30 PM PT. Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has rapidly intensified, and the global order has faced growing strains. Through it all, Taiwan has remained remarkably resilient. In the face of relentless diplomatic, economic, and military pressure from Beijing, Taiwan’s leaders have leveraged the island’s critical role in global technology supply chains, its reputation as a robust liberal democracy, and its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific to deepen engagement with key world powers. As many Americans question core assumptions of the post-Cold War global order, the PRC’s military power continues to grow, and the world stands on the cusp of a technological revolution in artificial intelligence, can Taiwan continue to navigate so deftly through turbulent geopolitical waters? To address these topics, the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region at the Hoover Institution held a fireside chat featuring Dr. Hung-mao Tien, President of the Institute for National Policy Research (INPR) in Taipei and a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Dr. Tien joined in conversation by Adm. (Ret.) James O. Ellis, the Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow, and Dr. Larry Diamond, the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr. Hung-mao Tien is the President and Chairman of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei, and board member of several foundations and business corporations in Taiwan. He also serves as a Senior Advisor to the President of the Republic of China (Taiwan). From 2000-2002, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also served as the chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation, the semi-official body in Taiwan responsible for direct exchanges and dialogue with the People's Republic of China, Representative (ambassador) to the United Kingdom, and presidential advisor to former President Lee Teng-hui. He has also served in an advisory capacity to Harvard University’s Asia Center, The Asia Society in New York, and the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. Dr. Tien has taught in universities in both the US and Taiwan as professor of political science. His numerous publications in English (author, editor and co-editor) include: Government and Politics in Kuomintang China 1927-37 (Stanford University Press); The Great Transition: Social and Political Change in the Republic of China (Stanford: Hoover Institution Press); and Democratization in Taiwan, Implications for China (St. Anthony’s Series, Oxford University), Consolidating the Third Wave Democracies, Themes and Perspectives (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press), China Under Jiang Zemin (Rienner), and The Security Environment in the Asia-Pacific (M.E. Sharpe). He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Larry Diamond is the William L. Clayton Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, the Mosbacher Senior Fellow in Global Democracy at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and a Bass University Fellow in Undergraduate Education at Stanford University. He is also professor by courtesy of political science and sociology at Stanford, where he lectures and teaches courses on democracy (including an online course on EdX). At Hoover, he co-leads the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region and participates in the Program on the US, China, and the World. At FSI, he is among the core faculty of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law, which he directed for six and a half years. He leads FSI’s Israel Studies Program and is a member of the Program on Arab Reform and Development. He also co-leads the Global Digital Policy Incubator, based at FSI’s Cyber Policy Center. He served for thirty-two years as founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy. Diamond’s research focuses on global trends affecting freedom and democracy and on US and international policies to defend and advance democracy. His book Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency (2019; paperback ed. 2020) analyzes the challenges confronting liberal democracy in the United States and around the world and offers an agenda for strengthening and defending democracy at home and abroad. His other books include In Search of Democracy (2016), The Spirit of Democracy (2008), Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation (1999), Promoting Democracy in the 1990s (1995), and Class, Ethnicity, and Democracy in Nigeria (1989). He has edited or coedited more than fifty books, including China’s Influence and American Interests (2019, with Orville Schell), Silicon Triangle: The United States, Taiwan, China, and Global Semiconductor Security (2023, with James O. Ellis Jr. and Orville Schell), and The Troubling State of India’s Democracy (2024, with Šumit Ganguly and Dinsha Mistree). Admiral James O. Ellis Jr. is Annenberg Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he oversees both the Global Policy and Strategy Initiative and the George P. Shultz Energy Policy Working Group. He retired from a 39-year career with the US Navy in 2004. He has also served in the private and nonprofit sectors in areas of energy and nuclear security. A 1969 graduate of the US Naval Academy, Ellis was designated a naval aviator in 1971. His service as a navy fighter pilot included tours with two carrier-based fighter squadrons and assignment as commanding officer of an F/A-18 strike fighter squadron. In 1991, he assumed command of the USS Abraham Lincoln, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. After selection to rear admiral, in 1996, he served as a carrier battle group commander, leading contingency response operations in the Taiwan Strait. His shore assignments included numerous senior military staff tours. Senior command positions included commander in chief, US Naval Forces, Europe, and commander in chief, Allied Forces, Southern Europe, during a time of historic NATO expansion. He led US and NATO forces in combat and humanitarian operations during the 1999 Kosovo crisis. Ellis’s final assignment in the navy was as commander of the US Strategic Command during a time of challenge and change. In this role, he was responsible for the global command and control of US strategic and space forces, reporting directly to the secretary of defense.