This workshop will include an introductory lecture by Stanford visiting fellow Holger Mölder (Tallinn University of Technology), and a roundtable discussion with Kathryn Stoner (Freeman Spogli Institute), Sergey Sanovich (Hoover Institution) Glenn Tiffert (Hoover Institution), and Noel Foster (Naval War College). The workshop aims to tackle the following questions:

  • Has the international system abandoned the post-Cold war model of security governance for good and returned to more unstable strategic competition between competing and often revisionist powers?
  • Can we conclude that a democratic recession has reversed the global wave of democratization, which started at the end of the 20th century, and which factors have empowered democratic and populist forces?
  • How do international actors identify themselves, their friends, and foes in their international status-related contest? How are the politics of identity shaping contemporary international politics?
  • The War in Ukraine: How has the war in Ukraine changed the future strategic patterns of great powers and which lessons should we draw from this shift?

Introductory Remarks

Holger Mölder, Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech)

Roundtable Discussion

Noel Foster, The U.S. Naval War College 

Sergey Sanovich, Hoover Institution Fellow 

Kathryn Stoner, Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law 

Glenn Tiffert, Hoover Institution Research Fellow 

Upcoming Events

Thursday, February 5, 2026
china
The Broken China Dream: How to Reform Revived Totalitarianism
The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World invites you to The Broken China Dream: How to Reform Revived Totalitarianism on … Shultz Auditorium, George P. Shultz Building
Monday, February 9, 2026
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Navigating International Research Partnerships In Choppy Geopolitical Waters - The Swedish Experience
The Hoover Institution Program on the US, China, and the World invites you to Navigating International Research Partnerships in Choppy Geopolitical… Herbert Hoover Memorial Building, Room 160
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
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America At 250: Classical Heritage, Western Civilization, The Future
COLLEGE 102 and the Hoover Institution host America at 250: Classical Heritage, Western Civilization, the Future on Wednesday, February 11, 2026,… Hoover Institution, Stanford University
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