Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) — The Hoover Institution welcomed state legislators and representatives of the National Conference of State Legislatures on November 18–19 for another gathering of the State and Local Leadership Forum.
The bipartisan gathering included eighteen state legislative leaders from all regions of the country to hear from leading Hoover scholars on a wide range of issues, including China’s influence on the local scene; advances in robotics and synthetic biology; and the threat of Russia to NATO.
Because legislative leaders are facing new challenges with international investment and influence in their states, the agenda primarily addressed the international landscape, as well as developments in emerging technology.
Hoover Institution director Condoleezza Rice welcomed the members of the group and spoke with them about how Hoover can effectively partner with state and local governments to develop sound policy solutions to the challenges they face.
Research Fellow Rose Goettemoeller spoke to attendees about the current state of NATO as the US prepares to inaugurate Donald Trump as president for a second time. She said the feeling that NATO members do not contribute enough to the collective security of the alliance is something many US presidents have felt since the early days of the Cold War. She also outlined the wide gap in initial positions between Ukraine and Russia should they wish to begin negotiating an end to the war: Where Ukraine wants a total return to its borders prior to the 2014 seizure of Crimea, Russia wants to retain essentially all the territory it has captured during the period since.
Building upon the themes of leadership and global security, Distinguished Fellow General Jim Mattis spoke to attendees about how America’s power abroad is affected by the rising perception today that there is a lack of unity at home.
The officials ended their first day by meeting with Senior Fellow Drew Endy, who leads Hoover’s Bio-Strategies and Leadership program, to discuss the need for national coordination of a synthetic biology strategy and to tour his synthetic biology laboratory on Stanford’s campus.
On day two of the event, Distinguished Research Fellow Glenn Tiffert, cochair of Hoover’s Program on US, China, and the World, spoke to attendees about the Chinese Communist Party’s covert influence programs within the United States, as well as best practices government officials can use when contacted by Chinese diplomats and when traveling to China on official business.
In a related talk on Taiwan, Distinguished Visiting Fellow Admiral James O. Ellis Jr. spoke about the “Silicon Triangle,” or the production and trade in semiconductor chips emanating from Taiwan to both China and the United States, and the delicate nature of that trilateral relationship, especially considering its importance to the continued development of generative AI.
Next, Senior Fellow Russell A. Berman and Hoover Fellow Cole Bunzel spoke to attendees about threats and opportunities presented by the Middle East today, with an emphasis on the activities of extremist groups as well as the state of Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
To discuss the ways Hoover can partner with state and local governments to develop policy responses to pressing challenges, Research Fellow Rebecca Lester of Hoover’s State and Local Governance Initiative presented recent projects that have helped states examine business incentive policies (Alabama) and explore the impact of new state income tax brackets (California). Several attendees expressed interest in seeing and participating in future research programs to better understand policy implications in their home states.
The conversation was then steered by Senior Fellow Philip Zelikow, who spoke to the participants about the intersection between the rise of generative AI and national security.
Finally, the participants got to speak with Science Fellow Allison Okamura, who runs Stanford’s Collaborative Haptics and Robotics in Medicine (CHARM) Laboratory. They toured the lab and had the opportunity to ask questions about the development of ultrasensitive and dexterous robotic applications.
