Uncommon Knowledge “They’re Not Like Us”: Michael McFaul on Autocrats vs. Democrats and the Fight for the Twenty-First Century | Peter Robinson | Hoover Institution
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Mar 2, 2026 
Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia and Stanford scholar of U.S.-Russia relations, shares sharp reflections on autocrats versus democracies. He contrasts U.S. strengths with Russian and Chinese power. He explains Russia’s return to autocracy, why NATO expansion was not decisive, links Ukraine’s fate to Taiwan’s deterrence, and urges smarter military investment, soft power, and alliance solidarity.
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U.S. Advantages Beyond Size
- The U.S. retains decisive advantages in higher education, GDP per capita, and allied military-economic strength despite relative declines.
- Michael McFaul cites top universities, aggregated democratic economies, and combined free-world military power as levers the U.S. still leads on.
How Nemtsov's Fall Cleared The Way For Putin
- Boris Nemtsov's rise and 1998 financial crash altered Russia's democratic trajectory and opened the door for Vladimir Putin.
- McFaul recounts Nemtsov as Yeltsin's anointed successor whose prospects collapsed after the 1998 crisis, enabling Putin's ascent.
Putin Fears Democratic Example More Than NATO
- NATO expansion mattered but was not the proximate cause of Russia's rupture with the West; democratic expansion is Putin's real fear.
- McFaul notes Putin at times sought NATO ties, while democratic example in Ukraine threatens his legitimacy more than NATO itself.
