The Hubert H. Humphrey Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor notable public service by a political scientist.
Citation from the Award Committee:
Over three decades, Michael McFaul has pursued a career that combines notable accomplishments in both scholarly research and public service.
McFaul’s scholarly work has focused on Russian politics and post-Communist politics, with this expertise recognized by his appointment to important government roles during the Obama administration, first as Special Assistant to President Obama and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs in the Security Council (2009 to 2012) and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014. As the Russian Federation moved from tentative democratic openings to autocratic rule, McFaul engaged not only with Kremlin authorities but also with opposition activists defending human rights and democracy. Since leaving the ambassadorship, McFaul has been proscribed by Russian authorities for criticism of illiberal trends and opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Recently, McFaul has appeared regularly on news programs offering explanations of unfolding international issues to general audiences. Whether or not any given colleague or observer agrees with specific positions McFaul has taken on international issues, his career has demonstrated exemplary and courageous commitment to public service and a willingness to use scholarly research to bolster democratic civil society in the United States and abroad.
Michael McFaul is the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies in Political Science, Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), and the Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He joined the Stanford faculty in 1995. He served as FSI Director from 2015 to 2025. He is also an international affairs analyst for MSNOW and writes weekly column on Substack called McFaul’s World.
McFaul has written ten books, including Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder, the New York Times bestseller, From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin’s Russia; Advancing Democracy Abroad: Why We Should, How We Can; and Russia’s Unfinished Revolution: Political Change from Gorbachev to Putin.
He is a recipient of an honorary PhD from Montana State University; and the Order of Merit of Third Degree from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine.
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.
APSA thanks the committee members for their service: Theda Skocpol (Chair) of Harvard University, Marion Orr of Brown University, Bruce Bueno de Mesquita of New York University, Jeffrey Kraus of Wagner College, and Jan E. Leighley of American University
Be the first to comment