From Cold War to Hot Peace!

Two weeks ago, the Global Scholars cohort was fortunate enough to attend the Los Angeles World Affairs Council's dinner where, Michael McFaul, the former US Ambassador to Russia spoke about U.S. relations with Russia and his personal experiences as being a pivotal character in the relationship. Since his start at Stanford University, Ambassador McFaul had always had an interest for international affairs and felt he could pursue this interest through a year abroad program in Russia where he would learn the in's and out's of the Russian government as well as converse with the students studying there. What surprised him the most was how different and lively the younger generation in Russia was compared to his expectations. Because a majority of the world believes Russia is a extreme totalitarian government with no diversity in opinion, McFaul was in great shock to see that the Russian youth was not that different from the youth in the U.S. Aside from his initial impressions, McFaul said he had observed Putin's perspective of the U.S. time and time again, slowly but surely developing a dislike for U.S. foreign policy. During Obama's presidency, Putin did not actively seek to mend relations between the two countries. But after the election of Donald Trump, Putin has seen Trump as a valuable ally that "enjoys far greater popularity in polls in Russia than at home" (McFaul). While the U.S. elections may have been altered and whether or not Putin's plan to influence the U.S. is succeeding, the conversation that these issues provoke, are no less productive. Nevertheless, speaking with Ambassador McFaul proved to be a very unique experience, seeing how he addressed certain problems and how he employed certain rhetoric to direct the questions in his favor. I am glad I was able to attend this event, and that we were able to buy two of his books!