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Todays BattlegroundsAuthor: Hoover Institution
Today's Battlegrounds with H.R. McMaster is a podcast that provides a needed forum with leaders from key countries to share their assessment of problem sets and opportunities that have implications for U.S. foreign policy and national security strategy. Language: en Genres: History, News, News Commentary Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Peru: Politics, Power, and the Challenge of Governing | Today's Battlegrounds | Hoover Institution
Episode 105
Thursday, 8 October, 2026
In this episode of Today's Battlegrounds, H.R. McMaster and Francisco Sagasti discuss the lessons of Sagasti's presidency, political and economic trends in Latin America, and his new book, Knowledge is Power, which explores the life and legacy of Sir Francis Bacon. For more conversations from world leaders from key countries, subscribe to receive instant notification of the next episode. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Dr. Francisco Sagasti served as interim President of Peru from November 2020 to July 2021 during one of the most turbulent stretches in the country's recent history. An industrial engineer by training, with graduate degrees from Penn State and a PhD in operations research and social systems science from the University of Pennsylvania, Sagasti built a career bridging technocracy, philosophy, and public service — heading the World Bank's Strategic Planning Division, chairing the United Nations Council on Science and Technology, and founding GRADE, one of Peru's leading think tanks. He has taught at Wharton, IE Business School, and the University for Peace, and is the author of more than twenty-five books. Elected to Congress in 2020, Sagasti was serving as chair of its Science, Technology, and Innovation Committee when a constitutional crisis elevated him to the presidency. While serving as president, Sagasti stabilized the government, secured desperately needed COVID-19 vaccines, and orchestrated a peaceful transfer of power following the 2021 presidential elections. H.R. McMaster is the Fouad and Michelle Ajami Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is also the Bernard and Susan Liautaud Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute and lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He was the 25th assistant to the president for National Security Affairs. Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1984, McMaster served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army for thirty-four years before retiring as a Lieutenant General in June 2018.
