Talks from the Hoover Institution

Dr. Hung-mao Tien, former foreign minister of Taiwan and current INPR president, offers a concise perspective on Taiwan’s strategic role. He discusses the island’s geostrategic position, semiconductor-driven tech leverage, rising PRC coercion tactics, and the case for deeper U.S.–Taiwan–Japan cooperation. Short takes on democratic resilience and the dilemmas open societies face round out the conversation.

Michael Anton, Jack Ross Senior Fellow and former White House official, reflects on his public‑service career and controversial 2016 essay. He revisits conservative grievances about media, immigration, and foreign interventions. He assesses recent presidencies, trade and border achievements, Middle East diplomacy, and strategic debates on China, Russia, Iran, and Taiwan.

Robert Blackwill, former deputy national security advisor and U.S. ambassador to India, offers a concise strategic roadmap. He reviews five rival U.S. grand strategy schools and argues for a new blend of military strength and alliance-driven leadership. He also weighs China-Taiwan deterrence, rebuilding allied trust, institutional reform, and how politics will shape America’s global role.

Jonathan Gienapp, a constitutional historian at Stanford, explains how the Declaration interlocks with the Constitution. Michael Auslin, a historian and author tracing the Declaration’s national story, discusses its cultural life. They explore the document’s origins, shifting meanings, its role in unity and civic education, and challenges teaching it in the digital age.

The Hoover Institution and the Stanford School of Engineering convened policymakers, scholars, and national leaders in Washington, DC, for the official launch of the 2026 Stanford Emerging Technology Review (SETR). This event features expert discussions on how emerging technologies—including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, robotics, and energy systems—are reshaping economic competitiveness, national security, and global geopolitics. Speakers examine how the United States can strengthen its innovation ecosystem, mitigate technological risk, and maintain leadership amid intensifying global competition. Download the 2026 Stanford Emerging Technology Review report: https://setr.stanford.edu/.

The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World hosted, Insights from the 2025 US-China Economic and Security Review Commission Report: Findings and Recommendations, on Thursday, January 29, 2026.  This event features leading experts from the Hoover Institution and the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission for a discussion analyzing the key bilateral economic and security challenges faced by the US and China and their impacts on the broader international landscape. Congress created the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission to monitor, investigate, and report on the national security implications of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Its annual reports to Congress address and make recommendations about pressing issues such as trade practices, technological competition, military strategy, and human rights concerns, with far-reaching implications for policymakers and stakeholders around the world. The Commission’s 2025 Annual Report was released in November 2025. To view the report, click the following link: https://www.uscc.gov/annual-reports FEATURING Erin Baggott Carter is a Hoover Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at the University of Southern California, a faculty affiliate at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute, and a nonresident scholar at the 21st Century China Center at UC San Diego. She has previously held fellowships at the CDDRL and Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. She received a PhD in political science from Harvard University.  Drew Endy is a science fellow and senior fellow (courtesy) at the Hoover Institution. He leads Hoover’s Bio-Strategy and Leadership effort, which focuses on keeping increasingly biotic futures secure, flourishing, and democratic. Professor Endy also researches and teaches bioengineering at Stanford University, where he is the Martin Family University Fellow in Undergraduate Education, senior fellow (courtesy) of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and faculty codirector of degree programs for the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design.  Mike Kuiken is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution and serves as a Commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. He is an advisor to the Special Competitive Studies Project (SCSP) and a member of Anthropic's National Security and Public Sector Advisory Council. He also consults with CEOs, boards, and senior leaders across investment, AI, defense, technology, and multinational firms globally.  The Honorable Randall G. Schriver is Chairman of the Board at The Institute for Indo-Pacific Security. In addition, Mr. Schriver is currently a partner at Pacific Solutions LLC. Most recently, Mr. Schriver served as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs from 8 January 2018 to 31 December 2019. Prior to his confirmation as Assistant Secretary, Mr. Schriver was a founding partner of Armitage International LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in international business development and strategies. He was also a founder of the Project 2049 Institute and served as President and CEO. Previously, Mr. Schriver served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs.  MODERATOR  Glenn Tiffert is a distinguished research fellow at the Hoover Institution and a historian of modern China. He co-chairs Hoover’s program on the  US, China, and the World, and also leads Stanford’s participation in the National Science Foundation’s SECURE program, a $67 million effort authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 to enhance the security and integrity of the US research enterprise. He works extensively on the security and integrity of ecosystems of knowledge, particularly academic, corporate, and government research; science and technology policy; and malign foreign interference.  

The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosted "Comparative Civics: Beyond Western Civ" with Dongxian Jiang, Shadi Bartsch, Simon Sihang Luo, and Peter Levine on December 10, 2025, from 9:00-10:00 a.m. PT. There is broad agreement that effective citizenship requires a firm understanding of the history and principles of the American constitutional system. But what about the insights, lessons, and perspectives that can be drawn from foreign contexts? How might the study of other societies–including those with autocratic systems or markedly different cultural traditions–enhance one’s preparation for effective American citizenship? This webinar explores what global perspectives can teach us about citizenship and democracy at home. Panelists: Dongxian Jiang: Assistant Professor of Chinese Studies, Department of Languages and Cultures, Fordham University.  Shadi Bartsch: Helen A Regenstein Professor of Classics; Director Emerita, Institute on the Formation of Knowledge, University of Chicago Simon Sihang Luo: Nanyang Assistant Professor, Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Moderator: Peter Levine: Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Service, Tufts University; Executive Committee Members, Alliance for Civics in the Academy 

The Hoover Applied History Working Group hosted a special book-launch seminar: Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump on Tuesday, December 2, 2025.  What happens when Americans lose faith in their religious institutions—and politicians fill the void? Please join us for a seminar that will discuss the forces that create leaders and hold their followers captive. Everyone feels it. Cultural and political life in America has become unrecognizable and strange. Firebrands and would-be sages have taken the place of reasonable and responsible leaders. Nuanced debates have given way to the smug confidence of yard signs. How did we get here? In Spellbound, Worthen argues that we will understand our present moment if we learn the story of charisma in America. From the Puritans and Andrew Jackson to Black nationalists and Donald Trump, the saga of American charisma stars figures who possess a dangerous and alluring power to move crowds. They invite followers into a cosmic drama that fulfills hopes and rectifies grievances—and these charismatic leaders insist that they alone plot the way. The story of charisma in America reveals that when traditional religious institutions fail to deliver on their promise of a meaningful life, people will get their spiritual needs met in a warped cultural and political landscape dominated by those who appear to have the power to bring order and meaning out of chaos. Charismatic leaders address spiritual needs, offering an alternate reality where people have knowledge, power, and heroic status, whether as divinely chosen instruments of God or those who will restore national glory. Worthen’s centuries-spanning historical research places a crucial religious lens on the cultural, economic, and political upheavals facing Americans today.

After the Hoover Applied History Working Group book-launch seminar on Tuesday, December 2, 2025, Hoover Institution fellow Niall Ferguson interviewed Molly Worthen the author of Spellbound: How Charisma Shaped American History from the Puritans to Donald Trump. Watch the full book-launch seminar here: https://youtu.be/bXkccTi7ZDE

Eyck Freymann, a Hoover Fellow and author on U.S.-China strategy, teams up with Harry Halem, a naval historian from the Yorktown Institute, to discuss pressing military and industrial challenges. They highlight the urgency for America to innovate in military capabilities and work with allies to deter China. Topics include the complex nature of modern supply chains, contrasting U.S. and Chinese military systems, and the need for political support to enhance defense strategies. Their insights draw parallels between past and present, stressing the importance of adaptive responses in today's geopolitical landscape.