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Duration: 01:11:07

Introduction by Congressman Ted Lieu  

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

MICHAEL MCFAUL is professor of political science, director and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Affairs, and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995. He also works as an analyst for NBC News. He also served for five years in the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012), and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014). He has authored several books including Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; with Kathryn Stoner, Transitions To Democracy: A Comparative Perspective; with James Goldgeier, Power and Purpose: American Policy toward Russia after the Cold War; and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin. His current research interests include American foreign policy, great power relations, and the relationship between democracy and development. Dr. McFaul was born and raised in Montana. He received his B.A. in International Relations and Slavic Languages and his M.A. in Soviet and East European Studies from Stanford University in 1986. As a Rhodes Scholar, he completed his D. Phil. in International Relations at Oxford University in 1991.

ABOUT CONGRESSMAN TED LIEU:

In 2014, Ted W. Lieu was elected to an open seat for the 33rd Congressional District, succeeding retiring 40 year incumbent Henry Waxman. He was elected president of the Freshman class of Democrats by his colleagues and serves on the House Budget Committee, and the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform. Ted is a former active duty officer who currently serves as a reservist in the United States Air Force. 

In February of 2011, Ted was elected to the State Senate in a special election. 

In the State Senate, Ted was Chair of the Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee, Chair of the Select Committee on Air Quality, and Chair of the Joint Committee on Arts. Ted's legislative accomplishments include co-sponsoring landmark legislation regulating the subprime mortgage industry, state tax reform that saved small businesses from billions in retroactive taxes, increasing planning for climate change, increasing tax incentives for film/TV production and banning the state from investing in or doing business with companies doing business with Iran.

Ted was elected to the Torrance City Council in 2002. In 2005, Ted was elected to the State Assembly, where he served until 2011. Ted chaired the Assembly Rules Committee, the Banking and Finance Committee, and sat on the Governmental Organization Committee, Judiciary Committee, Water, Parks & Wildlife Committee, and Veterans Affairs Committee. Ted was also Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus and Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace.

Ted's wife, Betty, is a former California Deputy Attorney General. They have two sons, Brennan and Austin.

ABOUT THE LECTURE SERIES: 

Established in 1980, the Bernard Brodie Distinguished Lecture on the Conditions of Peace celebrates the memory of Bernard Brodie as an eminent scholar and teacher. This lecture series provides a special forum for dignitaries and scholars of politics, strategy, warfare, and peace to present their views to the UCLA community and the public.