Hoover Launches Major Initiative to Envision a New Economic and Security Commons

Hoover Institution (Stanford, CA) - The Hoover Institution is launching the Economic and Security Commons, a major initiative to envision how America and free societies can respond to a period of profound global transformation defined by large-scale geopolitical shifts and rapid technological change.

This effort comes amid mounting global uncertainty, as confidence in democratic systems is tested, concerns about artificial intelligence grow, and questions deepen about the resilience of America's governing institutions and the path forward.

This ambitious project draws on America's constitutional principles and reflects the Hoover Institution's founding commitment to advancing freedom and addressing shared global challenges.

In the aftermath of World War I, amid widespread upheaval, Herbert Hoover organized large-scale relief efforts for millions of suffering and starving people in shattered societies. He later founded the Institution to carry forward that legacy-to advance peace and improve the human condition.

In his work at the Hoover Institution, the late Secretary of State George P. Shultz built on that vision, calling for an "economic and security commons"-a concept newly urgent as geopolitical and technological shifts accelerate and the post-World War II international order frays.

The Economic and Security Commons initiative will examine how the United States can reclaim a compelling vision rooted in the social contract of the republic, its confidence as a nation, its belief in opportunity, and voluntary partnerships between nations-principles that once underpinned American leadership but are now under strain at home and abroad.

A key tenet of this initiative is that the challenges of the era are solvable. The United States can play a crucial role in uniting free nations around the world, but it must first address its challenges at home.

The initiative will also analyze the forces eroding the postwar order-expanded after the Cold War under US leadership-and assess what may follow.

Led by a steering committee chaired by Hoover Institution director Condoleezza Rice and senior fellows Steven J. Davis, Stephen Kotkin, and Philip Zelikow, the initiative aims to advance and debate ideas that will:

• Show that democracy still works
• Create opportunity in the digital age
• Sustain foundations of the American Dream
• Adapt American power for a different world
• Deal with the ideas of friends and rivals

"As we mark America's 250th birthday, this initiative will confront a changing world through rigorous scholarship, challenge assumptions through critical inquiry, convene new conversations across sectors, cultivate leadership, and help renew America's standing among free societies," Secretary Rice said.

"This is a generational moment for our nation," said Zelikow. "We will step up as scholars and as citizens with the most ambitious initiative in Hoover's illustrious history."

Under these five goals, the initiative has organized teams across nearly thirty topics, drawing on experts from the Hoover Institution and Stanford University at-large-and is already broadening participation beyond this initial cohort of experts.

Already underway in their efforts, the teams will present their initial findings and perspectives during a plenary conference to be hosted at the Hoover Institution on September 22-26, 2026.

The "Commons" will advance its ideas through a broad, action-oriented communications and outreach effort to help guide how the United States and other free societies respond to this hinge point of history.

The Hoover Institution's Freedom Frequency Substack will serve as a far-reaching platform for thought leadership and analysis, amplifying the work of the "Commons" and extending its reach to a wider audience.

Additional channels are being established to strengthen and advance emerging ideas.

"A private sector group" will engage leading business executives closely connected to production and operations across the United States and world.

"A political cabinet" will bring together former and current public officials to evaluate emerging policy ideas and political themes.

A second major conference is planned for May 2027, when more developed insights will be shared and shape the conversation about "what comes next."

Learn more about the Economic and Security Commons initiative and watch a short video featuring its steering committee here.

For more information, contact Jeffrey Marschner, 202-760-3187, [email protected] .

About the Economic and Security Commons

Citizens across America and throughout the free world ask: What is happening to the old order and what will replace it? What comes next?

At such a time we at Hoover should reflect deeply on the work that we have done and our willingness to challenge our assumptions going forward. We are scholars-but we are citizens too. This is a moment for us to respond as both.

We are launching a Hoover Initiative to envision an Economic and Security Commons. "Economic and security commons" is a phrase George Shultz liked. It expresses a vision of people and societies who share our commitment to freedom, coming together around common problems we face at this pivot of world history. We should envision what comes next through the rest of the 2020s.

Our initiative should encompass economics, security, and technology, cutting across the usual disciplinary divides to develop concrete ideas about how America and its partners might adapt to this new era. As we celebrate our country's 250th birthday, work to map the global and political landscape will combine with teams focusing on nearly thirty specific topics to open fresh conversations about ways to renew free societies and the American example.