Oral history interview with Michael A. McFaul, 2022
Abstract
Michael McFaul discusses his contributions to the foreign policy of the Obama administration, in which he served as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs on the National Security Council (NSC) from 2009 to 2012, and United States ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014. McFaul recounts formative experiences in the Soviet Union and Rus sia prior to the Obama years, and describes the work of the Obama 2008 presidential campaign's foreign policy working groups. He speaks widely about the administration's foreign policy toward Russia, and considers notable issues and initiatives with which he was closely involved, including the attempt to reset bilateral relations between the U.S. and Russia; Obama's relationship with Dmitry Medvedev; the U.S. response to the 2011 Russian legislative elections; the significance of Vladimir Putin's return to the Russian presidency; the administration's approach to human rights and democratization issues; U.S. engagement with the Russian opposition; McFaul's access to, and relationships with, Russian government officials; and McFaul's treatment by the Russian government during his tenure as U.S. ambassador. McFaul, who has long been involved with democracy promotion and advocacy, also narrates his experience of the Arab Spring, and describes administration officials' use of historical analogies for analysis and prediction. Also discussed are Obama's approach to briefings on foreign policy issues; the balance between foreign policy and domestic politics; foreign policy and national security personnel appointments during the Bush-Obama presidential transition; and work-family balance in the Obama White House
Presidents--United States; Arab Spring, 2010-; Work-life balance; United States Foreign policy Russia (Federation); Russia (Federation) Foreign policy United States; McFaul, Michael, 1963-; Obama, Barack; National Security Council (U.S.)
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
78 pages
Note (Biographical)
Michael McFaul is an American academic, public servant, and diplomat. In the Obama administration, he served as special assistant to the president and senior director for Russian and Eurasian affairs on the National Security Council (NSC) from 2009 to 2012, and United States ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014. Prior to his government service, McFaul's scholarship focused on democratization and development, with a particular focus on post-Soviet Russia. At the time of the interview, McFaul was the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini professor of international studies in the Department of Political Science at Stanford University, where he is director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He was also Peter and Helen Bing senior fellow at the Hoover Institution
Note
Interviewed by Evan D. McCormick on July 8, 2021, and July 13, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Michael A. McFaul, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023