Today, Michael McFaul explains the importance of diplomacy to the successful conduct of US foreign policy; Miles Maochun Yu argues against the idea that Communist Party–controlled China can be integrated into the post–World War II global order; and a new piece for the Hoover site reviews highlights from the Institution’s ninth Summer Policy Boot Camp, held in August.
Determining America’s Role in the World
“With a deep bench of diplomats, the United States not only counters American rivals but on the diplomatic front lines also helps promote widespread prosperity and stability around the world,” argues Senior Fellow Michael McFaul in a new episode of Hoover’s Policy Stories video series. The new episode shows how diplomacy has long been a cornerstone of American power—used to secure military alliances, open global markets, gather intelligence, and advance US values abroad. Today, as authoritarian regimes expand their diplomatic reach, McFaul says the United States faces the risk of ceding influence in various regions. Budget cuts to the State Department threaten America’s ability to compete, compromising national security and soft power. McFaul maintains that reinvesting in a robust diplomatic corps would help preserve US leadership in a more contested world. Watch here.
Confronting and Competing with China
In an opinion column for The Washington Times, Visiting Fellow Miles Maochun Yu argues that the United States cannot enjoy true peace with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). “The West rests on openness, reciprocity and the rule of law,” writes Yu, while “the CCP rests on secrecy, coercion, and party supremacy.” He frames the clash of the American and Chinese systems as structural and deeply ideological. Yu stresses that American policymakers must not harbor illusions about the nature of the Chinese regime or its global ambitions. “Ports, power plants and railways are not neutral assets but instruments of control,” according to the author. Drawing on historical clashes with authoritarian regimes, Yu makes the case that “peaceful coexistence with the Chinese Communist Party is not unlikely. It is impossible.” Read more here.
Hoover Institution News
Students and recent graduates from around the world gathered for the ninth annual Hoover Institution Summer Policy Boot Camp (HISPBC) from August 10 to 14, 2025. Participants heard from a wide cross section of the Hoover fellowship, speaking about topics including monetary and fiscal policy, environmental sustainability, the emerging Trump foreign policy doctrine, and who is positively and negatively impacted by regulations such as the minimum wage. The Hoover Institution Summer Policy Boot Camp is made possible by the generosity of the Kurt Hauser family. Student participants are invited to complete a policy proposal essay that argues for a specific solution to a policy problem, due after the completion of boot camp. Leading entries are honored with the Director’s Award, which comes with a $500 cash prize and an invitation to an upcoming Hoover Institution Board of Overseers meeting. Read more here.
Revitalizing History
On the latest episode of Uncommon Knowledge, Yale historian and memoirist Carlos Eire recounts his extraordinary journey from being an 11-year-old Cuban boy in Operation Peter Pan—sent to the United States to escape Fidel Castro’s regime—to becoming a National Book Award–winning author and chaired professor at Yale. Eire discusses the painful separation from his family, the challenges of assimilation, and the lifelong tension between his Cuban and American identities, themes he explores in his acclaimed memoirs Waiting for Snow in Havana and Learning to Die in Miami. The conversation also delves into Eire’s recent book They Flew: A History of the Impossible, which examines early modern testimonies of levitation, bilocation, and miracles, and how belief, culture, and skepticism shaped their reception. Eire also reflects on Cuban history, the failures of the Castro regime, the broader Hispanic experience in America, and the enduring clash between materialist skepticism and openness to mystery. Read more here.
National Security
A new Hoover Institution Press Essay from Military History in Contemporary Conflict Working Group contributor Lewis Libby analyzes key elements of crafting national security strategy and draws on one of the few prolonged efforts to recraft American strategy in modern times: the US effort to develop post–Cold War strategy in the wake of the 1989 Warsaw Pact collapse. Libby argues that institutional efforts at crafting long-term national security strategies may help democracies steer successfully through the swirl of contemporary events, but they require leadership at various levels, rigorous analysis of the real world, and insights to pierce an ever-uncertain future. Libby shows that successful efforts to shift security policy analyze trends and test hypotheses about alternative futures, allowing for unpredictability. Such an approach can provide the basis for sound judgments about a range of futures and the best strategic course to pursue. Read more here.
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