The Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies is Stanford University’s hub for nonpartisan, interdisciplinary research, teaching and policy impact in international affairs.

Welcome to the FSI Policy Roundup for May 2026. This monthly series highlights our scholars' analyses on pressing policy issues around the globe.

Get takeaways from a recent FSI panel on how technologies like AI, social media, and biotechnology are changing the world, and see what experts have to say about the next generation of conflicts taking shape in the Asia-Pacific.

Take a deep dive using the links below, and let us know what you think by replying to this email.

Getting to Denmark by Francis Fukuyama

The $36 Billion Question: The Economic and Humanitarian Consequences of Extending Russia’s Oil Waivers by Ruth Gibson

The Arctic Is Rewriting Energy Geopolitics – and Testing South Korea’s Strategy by Eunjung Lim

What Palm Readers and Chatbots Have in Common by Herbert Lin

Happy Talk in Beijing, but Few Gains for America (Yet) by Michael McFaul

How Will AI Reshape Politics? by Nathaniel Persily

Colombia at a Crossroads: Ballots, Bullets, and the Future of Democracy

June 1, 2026 | 3:00 - 4:15pm  
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Security Through Cooperation: A Book Talk with Rose Gottemoeller

June 2, 2026 | 10:30am - 12:00pm
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AI, biotech advances, and geopolitical competition took center stage at a panel of FSI scholars who explored how emerging technologies are intersecting and reshaping the world. READ MORE

The next generation of conflicts will be shaped as much by data, supply chains, and AI systems as by military power, said experts at an APARC conference on tech and alliances in the Asia-Pacific. READ MORE