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Michael McFaul Profile picture
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19 Jan, 10 tweets, 3 min read
During the @JoeBiden @Transition46 , Ive been offering some unsolicited policy recommendations in print. As they move today from transition to governance tomorrow, collating them all here in one THREAD. 1/.
On diagnostics, here is what the Biden national security team inherits from Trump tomorrow: "The good, the bad and the (very) ugly foreign policy legacy Trump leaves for Biden" nbcnews.com/think/opinion/… 2/
On prescriptions, here are 6 essays on how to improve (1) diplomacy, (2) support for global democracy, (3) strategic communications and USG media, as well as how to deal with (4) Russia, (5)China, and (6) Iran. 3/
(1) Improving diplomacy.
americanpurpose.com/articles/dress… 4/
(2) Improving support for global democracy. americanpurpose.com/articles/somet… 5/
(3) Improving USG strategic communications and media.
americanpurpose.com/articles/sell-… 6/
(4) Dealing with Russia.
foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukrai… 7/
(5)Dealing with China.
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10… 8/
(6) w/ @milaniabbas , Dealing with Iran. (Unlike the others in this threat, which were written this fall, we published this piece during the last administration; its dated but tragically still relevant) 9/
tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…
To the new Biden national security team taking over tomorrow, Godspeed! Our country and the world needs you to succeed. 10/ END THREAD.

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More from @McFaul

Michael McFaul Profile picture
13 Jan
"On January 6, 2021 a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic." THREAD 1/
"Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. " 2/
"None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution."3/
Read 4 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
12 Jan
.@AnnaGBusse @didikuo1 @FukuyamaFrancis and I published a report last year called Global Populisms and Their Challenges, with relevance to recent U.S. "events" Get it here: stanford.app.box.com/s/0afiu4963qjy… A few highlights. THREAD 1/
"Democracies are vulnerable to populists in three ways. First, democracy relies on buy-in from both the electoral winners and the electoral losers to respect election results." 2/
"Winners have to constrain themselves: they cannot use the law to persecute their opponents or blatantly skew the rules of the game in their favor." 3/
Read 5 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
12 Jan
In February 2017, I published this piece @PostOpinions. "Opinion | We can’t let Trump go down Putin’s path." THREAD. 1/ washingtonpost.com/news/democracy…
Have witnessed and written extensively about the gradual erosion of democracy in Russia (& other countries), I thought we Americans could learn some lessons from the Russian "case". (Tweeting some of the key points from the piece, hidden behind a paywall) 2/
"Liberal friends of mine inside the Russian government at the time argued that they had to stay where they were so that they could resist Putin’s autocratic ways." We've heard that one now for 4 years. 3/
Read 14 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
21 Dec 20
I agree mostly with Bob Gates here: "The World Is Full of Challenges. Here’s How Biden Can Meet Them." THREAD 1/ nytimes.com/2020/12/18/opi…
On diagnosis, here's is my parallel take "Opinion | The good, the bad and the (very) ugly foreign policy legacy Trump leaves for Biden" nbcnews.com/think/opinion/… via @NBCNewsTHINK 2/
On Gates' call for reforming and enhancing diplomacy, here's my take: Dressing for Dinner 3/ americanpurpose.com/articles/dress…
Read 6 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
19 Dec 20
Saddened to read this story about Trump's decision to close our consulates in Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok. THREAD 1/ apnews.com/article/politi…
The U.S. should be seeking ways to engage more directly with Russian society. These consulates help. Some of my best trips in Russia as U.S. Ambassador were to Ekaterinburg and Vladivostok. 3/
In Ekaterinburg, the press followed me everywhere. They were eager for interaction. 4/
Read 6 tweets
Michael McFaul Profile picture
18 Dec 20
Since the parlor game of naming ambassadors has begun, here are a few my unsolicited recommendations. First, some principles, We need experience qualified people -- career or political -- in the top jobs. I explain why here. THREAD 1/ americanpurpose.com/articles/dress…
Diplomacy with our rivals is most important. For China, Ambassador William Burns would be great. For Russia, Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch would be great. 2/
Next, we need strong ambassadors in the countries that help us contain (and engage) China and Russia. In Europe, that's Germany. Karen Donfried would be ideal there. In Asia, that's Japan. Kurt Campbell would be a strong ambassador there. 3/
Read 5 tweets

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