Hudson Institute Events Podcast

For nearly 25 years, the United States and India have achieved historic progress in deepening bilateral ties across domains. But important work that could shape global prosperity and security in remains ahead.

Join Hudson’s Dr. Aparna Pande and Deputy Secretary of State Richard R. Verma, the former US ambassador to India, for a conversation on the progress the US and India have made and the major lines of effort ahead.

As Russia continues its criminal war against Ukraine, Europe should urgently deploy all the tools at its disposal to dismantle the Russia-linked state capture networks that have facilitated the Kremlin’s corrosive influence on international economic and political affairs.

Europe’s lackluster sanctions enforcement mechanisms, the patchwork of weak anti–money laundering and criminal prosecution frameworks, and diverse networks of enablers who seek gains from transactional diplomacy have each emboldened the Kremlin to strengthen its maximalist war aims. Russia has also expanded its economic and political influence beyond Europe to create an authoritarian, anti-Western coalition in the Global South.

To empower frontline countries and mitigate authoritarian influence, the European Union needs to create institutional architecture focused on strategic decoupling from Russian energy dependence, cut Western technology and weapons supplies to Russia, and counteract the illicit financing channels that perpetuate the Kremlin’s war. 

To discuss how to strengthen economic security and sanctions enforcement in Europe, Martin Vladimirov, director of the Energy and Climate Program at the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) in Sofia, and Isaac Levi, Europe-Russia policy and energy analysis team lead at the Finland-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) will meet for an in-person panel. Matt Boyse will moderate the panel, and Laura Kovesi, the EU chief prosecutor, will join remotely.

Boyse and CSD Program Director Ruslan Stefanov will deliver opening remarks.

The United States’ federal debt has nearly doubled under the last two presidents. It now equals America’s gross domestic product, and the Congressional Budget Office projects that it will reach as much as 138 percent of US GDP in the next decade. America spends more on annual debt service than national defense, and debt service obligations threaten to impose stringent limits on all other discretionary spending. Neither presidential campaign has offered a convincing program to mitigate this spiraling crisis.

Former Senator Phil Gramm has been a leader in creative thinking and legislating about budgetary restraint over his 45-year public career in government and as an economist. Join Senator Gramm for a discussion at Hudson Institute on the importance and future of budgetary politics with Senior Fellow Thomas Duesterberg. Hudson President and CEO John Walters will deliver introductory remarks.

In recent years, more than 30 states, counties, and municipalities have filed lawsuits against energy companies under state public nuisance and consumer protection laws. These lawsuits, which seek damages for the alleged effects of climate change, have attracted the attention of the United States Supreme Court—particularlyHonolulu v. Sunoco. In these cases, the Supreme Court will decide whether state law claims seeking climate-related damages are precluded by the Constitution and preempted by the Clean Air Act. In early June, the Supreme Court invited the Justice Department’s solicitor general to file a brief expressing the views of the United States, which the department is likely to file this year. These lawsuits carry enormous legal, foreign policy, national security, legislative, public governance, and innovation implications.

Join Hudson for an expert discussion featuring various perspectives on these climate lawsuits and their potential impact.

While the United States and other advanced democracies are hardening their views of and position against China, Beijing is gaining ground in the developing economies of the Global South. In the Indo-Pacific, a region that will largely determine the future of the global strategic landscape, developing nations are absorbing Chinese norms and preferences and gradually adjusting their thinking and policies accordingly.

Why is China making worrying progress in shaping and influencing the policies and actions of developing economies in the Indo-Pacific? Why is this a significant problem for the US and its allies? And what are some effective approaches to countering China in this context?

Join Hudson’s Patrick Cronin, Tom Duesterberg, Aparna Pande, and John Lee as they discuss Lee’s latest report, Understanding and Countering China’s Global South Strategy in the Indo-Pacific.

Nicolas Maduro’s long struggle to strengthen his grip on power has created a criminal hybrid state in Venezuela. Kleptocratic patronage networks have plundered public assets, narcotrafficking has become a state enterprise, and the regime openly tolerates brutal criminal gangs in return for the gangs’ support. Now, Maduro’s refusal to concede defeat in Venezuela’s recent presidential election has plunged the country into a new spiral of political repression and economic crises.

Join Hudson for a discussion on how these crises will affect the evolution of Maduro’s criminal networks, the threat to regional security, and broader implications for the United States’ Venezuela policy, including how the US should dispose of the billions of dollars seized during criminal proceedings against members of Maduro’s inner circle.

Egyptian and Somali relations with Ethiopia are at an all-time low, which has severe implications for an already unstable Sudan and the wealthier countries on the opposite side of the Red Sea. As Cairo and Mogadishu strengthen their bilateral ties, Ethiopia continues to antagonize the two countries by making progress on its Grand Renaissance Dam and continuing to support the breakaway region of Somaliland. Under such circumstances, policymakers should consider the possibility of yet another conflict breaking out in the Horn of Africa.

What are the origins of these conflicts? What are their geostrategic implications? And how does stability in the Horn of Africa affect American policy in the broader region? Join Hudson for an expert panel discussion on these questions.

Foreign adversaries have long understood that American cultural and educational institutions are fertile ground for both individuals and states to whitewash their reputations, acquire valuable intellectual property, and stoke societal divisions within the United States.

The Chinese Communist Party’s engagement includes not only the controversial Confucius Institutes but also billions of dollars’ worth of ongoing research contracts and partnerships. In the decade before Russia invaded Ukraine, Kremlin-linked oligarchs donated hundreds of millions of dollars to prestigious US arts centers and universities. And earlier this year, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines confirmed that Iran provided financial support for violent, disruptive, and antisemitic campus protests against Israel.

Join Hudson for a discussion on what American policymakers can do to protect the integrity of US institutions and prevent foreign adversaries from spreading malign influence within America’s academic, cultural, and political life.

In Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court punctuated its recent revolution in administrative law by overruling Chevron USA Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council. For 40 years, Chevron had been outcome determinative in a vast array of administrative law decisions because it required courts to defer to administrative actors’ interpretations of ambiguous laws. This sentiment was couched in “respect” to the agencies and their relative technical expertise, but it meant that agencies could drive legal analysis in ways previously reserved to the courts.

Popular opinion on Loper Bright has been mixed. But most sophisticated readings emphasize Chief Justice John Roberts’s majority opinion’s many caveats, its narrow analysis, and its steadfast avoidance of destabilizing consequences. Most notably, the majority opinion insists that the court did “not call into question prior cases that relied on the Chevron framework.” 

But on the final day of the term, the court also released its decision in Corner Post Inc. v. Board of Governors of the Federal ReserveSystem, a case on the seemingly dry and unimportant question of whether a claim accrues under the Administrative Procedure Act’s review provisions when a plaintiff suffers an injury or when a regulation was issued. Corner Post held that a claim accrues, and thus the statute of limitations begins to run when a plaintiff is injured, no matter how old a rule might be.

Reading Loper Bright and Corner Post together suggests that Justice Roberts’s assurances about upsetting prior administrative law decisions may not always be accurate. Join Hudson for a panel discussion on the implications of these landmark court cases.

At the halfway mark of his presidency, Colombian President Gustavo Petro faces resistance in implementing his populist vision for the country. The erosion of the coalition that brought him to office in 2022 has led him to consider implementing “people’s assemblies” to advance constitutional reforms, which would risk further exacerbating tensions in the country.

Petro’s efforts to negotiate a “total peace” agreement have not brought more security to Colombia, and criminal groups have exploited the talks to expand their territory. More recently, Petro has faced criticism domestically and internationally for his response to Venezuela’s corrupt July 28 presidential elections.

Join Hudson for an event with former Vice President Francisco Santos to assesses Petro’s record, identify potential scenarios for the second half of Petro’s presidency, and discuss the implications for the United States and the region with Hudson’s Daniel Batlle.

In April 2024, the governments of the AUKUS (Australia–United Kingdom–United States) security partnership announced their willingness to cooperate with Japan on advanced capabilities projects as part of AUKUS Pillar 2. To date, the group has set up eight such working groups in areas including artificial intelligence, information sharing, and hypersonic missile technology. Given Japan’s technological capabilities and close cooperation with each of the AUKUS partners, Tokyo would bring considerable value to AUKUS Pillar 2.

Hudson Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein will host a panel with Chris Brose of Anduril, Phoebe Greentree of the Australian Embassy, and Hudson’s David Byrd and Masashi Murano to discuss the challenges and opportunities for Japan’s potential participation in AUKUS Pillar 2, how the program may need to evolve, and the wider security and technological implications of Japanese involvement in the program.

Three years ago, the Taliban returned to power in Kabul after America’s disastrous abandonment of Afghanistan. Since then, the situation in the country has deteriorated considerably. Afghanistan faces an acute humanitarian crisis and has once again become a haven for transnational terror groups, especially al-Qaeda. Additionally, the human rights of women and ethnic minority groups are under constant threat. 

Please join Hudson for an event with the leader of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Ahmad Massoud. Following his virtual remarks, an in-person panel of experts will discuss the resistance against the Taliban and the future of Afghanistan.

General David Allvin, chief of staff of the Air Force, will discuss how today’s strategic environment requires a force that is aligned and focused on the requirements and attributes that will keep the service competitive. Specifically, the Air Force needs to deliver combat-effective, agile, and adaptive airpower at scale. The complexity and speed of combat demand greater preparation, and prioritizing readiness based on mission effectiveness rather than functional competence will be essential to the Air Force’s ability to project and execute its mission rapidly and with precision. As General Allvin will discuss, the Air Force is aligning itself to be “one Air Force” to best compete, deter, and—if required—win in today’s volatile strategic landscape.

Please join General Allvin and Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton for a conversation. After the panel discussion, General Allvin will take questions from the audience.

United States–Japan–South Korea relations have surpassed all expectations. On the sidelines of the November 2022 East Asia Summit in Cambodia, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, and US President Joe Biden issued the Phnom Penh Statement, in which they pledged to align “their collective efforts in pursuit of a free and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive, resilient, and secure.” In August 2023, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida joined President Biden at a historic summit at Camp David. But a year after the first-ever standalone trilateral summit at the presidential retreat in Maryland, there are new questions about whether these three partners can maintain their momentum in the face of numerous global, regional, and domestic challenges.

Join Hudson Institute Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin and an expert panel as they consider the opportunities and problems confronting the future of the three nations’ cooperation. What are the shared interests that will propel further joint efforts? What obstacles stand in the way? Will cooperation survive possible changes in leadership?

Earlier this week, Ukraine shocked the world by launching a surprise military operation into the Russian Federation. Open-source intelligence shows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have made considerable advances in the first 72 hours of the incursion, but many details remain unknown.

Join Hudson experts Luke Coffey and Can Kasapoğlu for a discussion, moderated by Dan Kochis, on what this move means for the war and how this risk could pay off for Ukraine.

On the evening of August 1, Hezbollah launched a massive rocket barrage at Israel. Is this the beginning of an all-out war between Israel and an axis comprising Iran and Hezbollah?

Hezbollah’s July 27 rocket attack on the Israeli town of Majdal Shams murdered 12 children. The Israel Defense Forces responded by, among other things, killing Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah’s de facto chief of staff. Just hours after that operation, Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas, was assassinated in Tehran, where he was a guest of the new Iranian president. Iran immediately blamed Israel for the operation and vowed revenge. The likelihood of a coordinated campaign against Israel by Iran and Hezbollah, possibly in concert with other members of Iran’s “Resistance Axis,” has never been higher.

Join Senior Fellow Peter Rough for a conversation with Senior Fellow Michael Doran about the significance of these events.

Energy policy has become a contentious issue in Taiwan. Amid the summer heat, occasional blackouts create public unrest. Meanwhile, Taipei continues to implement policy from the last decade to transition Taiwan’s energy production away from coal and nuclear and toward liquefied natural gas (LNG) and renewables like solar, hydroelectric, and wind power. While renewables increase Taiwan’s ability to generate electricity domestically, the island—which is roughly the size of Maryland—remains mostly dependent on imported coal, LNG, and nuclear material.

Join Hudson as an expert panel discusses the current state of Taiwan’s energy transition and how the island’s energy mix might change in the next several years.

Hudson Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Luke Coffey host Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov, the representative of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments, to discuss the current state of United States–Azerbaijan relations and peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The North Korean people continue to endure immense suffering at the hands of the Kim regime. Post-COVID-19 indicators suggest that conditions inside the country are worsening. Heightened state-imposed isolation has cut off the North Korean people from critical lifelines like the use of informal markets for livelihood and sustenance, as well as from outside information. Even fewer North Koreans are making it to freedom beyond the country’s borders than before the pandemic.

But the lucky few who escape are forging new lives for themselves and identifying new lines of effort to bring freedom and human rights to the North Koreans who were left behind. Join Hudson for a conversation with the new generation of North Korean refugees on the future of American and South Korean policy to address the North Korean human rights challenge.

The United States Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) develops and operates global space, missile defense, and high-altitude systems. Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East have underscored the importance of space and missile defense capabilities, but questions remain regarding the Army’s role and preparedness in performing these missions.

Please join US Army SMDC commander Lieutenant General Sean A. Gainey and Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton for a discussion with participants on what role Army forces should play in space operations, how Army air and missile defense forces should modernize, and how SMDC can deepen its engagement in the Pacific.

Join Hudson for an event to launch Beneath the Harbor: Hong Kong’s Leading Role in Sanctions Evasion, a new report by the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation.

Hong Kong was once the freest economy in the world. But it is now experiencing a rapid erosion in the rule of law, which affects how businesses operate on the island. In recent years, the city has emerged as a top sanctions violator, a money laundering hub, and a transshipment center that plays a key role in providing Russia dual-use technology for its war effort.

Experts will discuss new evidence of how the Chinese Communist Party is using Hong Kong to sow instability and conflict around the world and how the United States can better counter these illicit activities.

China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are forming a new axis of aggressors to oppose the United States and its interests. With chaos unfolding around the globe, how should the US and its allies restore deterrence, maintain global leadership, and protect the prosperity of its people?

Join Chair of the Hudson Institute Japan Chair Advisory Board and former National Security Advisor LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster and Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a discussion on this topic.

In July 1999, the Chinese Communist Party launched one of the most severe acts of religious persecution since the Cultural Revolution—a violent campaign to wipe out Falun Gong, an indigenous spiritual group with tens of millions of Chinese practitioners. Twenty-five years later, this CCP campaign continues with large-scale imprisonments inside China as well as systematic propaganda and harassment in the United States.

Beyond the horrific toll on the Falun Gong community, the CCP’s relentless repression campaign has had wide-ranging repercussions for China and the world. Executing the campaign has sharpened the CCP’s security apparatus, served as a blueprint for repressing other designated enemies, and honed the party’s ability to influence Western media.

Join Hudson Institute as expert panels take stock of the Falun Gong crackdown over the past quarter of a century.

Cyber and emerging technology play a critical role in the strategic contest between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. The US needs to secure its advantages on computer networks, semiconductors, critical infrastructure, and artificial intelligence to avoid having its competition with the PRC devolve into crisis or conflict.

National Security Council Director for Cyber Policy Israel Soong joins Hudson’s Miles Yu for a conversation on why technology is crucial to Beijing’s plans and how the US can maintain the lead in its cyber and technology competition with China.

After a monthslong investigation, the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and Chinese Communist Party uncovered that China is actively subsidizing the sale of fentanyl precursors to Mexico. With 80,000–100,000 American citizens dying of fentanyl overdoses each year, the administration needs to comprehensively disrupt the finances and operations of Mexico’s drug cartels and their suppliers, launderers, and partners in crime: the Chinese Communists.

David Asher and Raymond Donovan, former director of operations of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and a strategic law enforcement expert, will discuss how America should hold the perpetrators accountable by strategically targeting them from the top down.

Iran is a key player in the growing axis of revisionist powers threatening the United States–led world order. Yet the US and Europe have been hesitant to fully back Israel in its proxy war against Tehran, and the Islamic Republic is not meaningfully on the agenda for the seventy-fifth North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit.

Former Congressman Ted Deutch, the CEO of the American Jewish Committee, will join Hudson to discuss what NATO militaries can learn from Israel’s fight against Iran-backed militias, the implications of a nuclear Iran for Europe, Tehran’s role in the rise of antisemitism in the West, and why aiding Israel is an important step to dismantle the China–Russia–Iran–North Korea axis.

Upon taking office as foreign minister of Lithuania in December 2020, Gabrielius Landsbergis quickly made a name for himself as one of Europe’s most effective diplomats. Early in his term, he announced that Lithuania would no longer participate in the Cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European Countries (China-CEEC) format; Estonia and Latvia withdrew the following year. Moreover, since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Landsbergis has outspokenly defended Ukrainian sovereignty and denounced Russia’s occupation. In fact, his clarity on the threat Russia poses goes back years. As he put it in June 2024, “I’m Lithuanian, and we strongly disapproved of Russian imperialism before it was common to do so.”

Furthermore, Foreign Minister Landsbergis has time and again made the case for the transatlantic alliance and underscored the importance of a strong American presence in Europe.

Please join Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis as he sits down with Senior Fellow Peter Rough on the eve of the Washington summit to discuss the prospects for Ukraine and the outlook for Lithuanian security. He will be introduced by Hudson Visiting Fellow Tomas Janeliūnas of Vilnius University.

Moving the partnership between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its Asia-Pacific partners from dialogue to cooperation is becoming increasingly urgent as Russia and China create a two-front challenge for the United States and its allies. But maritime security, hybrid warfare challenges, and increasing automation are ideal points of departure to get cooperation off the ground.

Rapid technological change and global interconnection have changed the maritime threat environment and the capabilities that nations use to address it. Maritime hybrid warfare threats from Russia and China are on the rise. These operations are generally conducted in coastal waters and feature the use of civilian and coast guard vessels manned by non-uniformed personnel armed with off-the-shelf systems. 

Are the US and its allies prepared for these threats? Warships are expensive and should be built to last 30 years or more. But the frequent emergence of new threats involving complex actors challenges ships’ lifespans. In the Russia-Ukraine War and in Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea, allies and partner forces shoot down cheap enemy drones with missiles that cost millions.

Should Washington and its allies build smaller and cheaper ships and create redundancy to reduce vulnerability? Can the defense industry develop laser technology to shoot down enemy drones and replace expensive missiles? Can greater flexibility, rather than specialization, guide the development of warships to prepare them for a variety of complex threats? Is US and allied ship production sufficient to meet the demand for affordable capabilities at a time when national defenses are stretched thin?

Hudson’s Liselotte Odgaard will moderate a panel with Benedetta Berti, the head of policy planning in the Office of the NATO Secretary General, Tsuneo Watanabe, senior fellow at the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Senior Fellow Peter Rough, and Japan Chair Ken Weinstein to discuss these issues.

The threats to the United States and the US-led international order are growing increasingly hostile. The Chinese Communist Party seeks to supplant the United States as the preeminent global power is forming an economic bloc of partners and quickly building its up military to threaten and coerce the US and its allies. Russia initiated the largest land war in Europe since World War II with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Iran launched an unprecedented direct attack against Israel and is funding proxy attacks against the United States and its allies. These authoritarian countries, and their proxies, have expansionist goals and are collaborating to harm the United States and subvert its global influence.

Join Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs for a discussion about the speaker’s agenda to bolster the credibility of US deterrence, strengthen alliances, improve America’s hard power, and maintain freedom, security, and prosperity for the American people.

In the quarter century after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, reunified Germany grew steadily more confident and powerful as the preeminent country in Europe. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has shattered much of that confidence, forcing the country to undertake a pivot as expressed in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s announcement of a zeitenwende, or watershed moment.

But what, exactly, has changed in Germany’s foreign policy outlook? Is the change in Berlin’s attitude toward Russia specifically, or in its stance on economic interdependence and dialogue as a pacifying force more generally? How applicable is zeitenwende to Germany’s attitude toward the Middle East, particularly Iran, or East Asia, particularly China? What about the military rearmament of the Bundeswehr?

There are few Germans better placed to answer these and other questions than Ambassador Thomas Bagger, the state secretary of the German Foreign Ministry. Ambassador Bagger is the author of a much-discussed 2019 essay in the Washington Quarterly, “The World According to Germany: Reassessing 1989,” and is considered one of the country’s leading public intellectuals and foreign policy professionals.

Please join Senior Fellow Peter Rough as he welcomes Ambassador Bagger to Hudson for a discussion on Germany’s foreign and security outlook today.

Building upon significant Japanese foreign direct investment across the United States, the US-Japan economic relationship is stronger and more consequential than ever. As affirmed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s official visit this spring, the private sector has a significant role in deepening bilateral economic ties and strengthening America’s competitiveness. The automotive industry is critical to this dynamic. This event will focus on Japanese automakers’ commitment to innovation and progress, contributions to workforce development, and the development of community partnerships in the US.

Hudson’s Japan Chair will welcome Hideaki Fujisawa, economic minister (METI) at the Embassy of Japan, for a keynote address on the state of the US-Japan economic relationship and the role that the private sector plays in deepening ties. The address will be followed by a fireside chat with Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) USA General Director Anita Rajan and Hudson Japan Chair Fellow William Chou on the importance of the Japanese automotive industry’s investments in the US and the launch of JAMA USA’s latest Impact Report.

Join Hudson for a conversation with Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine, who will discuss their new book Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power. The book argues that the United States should undergo a renewed pivot to Asia while maintaining commitments to Europe and the Middle East. As the international order becomes more unstable, Blackwill and Fontaine stress that the US has far less margin for foreign policy error today than a decade ago. They also say policymakers need to understand what the pivot aimed to achieve―and where it fell short―to muster the resources, alliances, and resolve to preserve an open order in Asia and elsewhere. Crafting an effective policy for the region, they contend, is crucial for preserving American security, prosperity, and democratic values.

Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill is the Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He served as deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for strategic planning under President George W. Bush, presidential envoy to Iraq, and US ambassador to India from 2001 to 2003. 

Richard Fontaine is the chief executive officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). Previously, he was foreign policy advisor to Senator John McCain and worked at the State Department, the National Security Council, and on the staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Dr. Patrick M. Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair and senior fellow at Hudson, will moderate the discussion. Ambassador Blackwill will join the conversation remotely.

Soon after Hamas attacked Israel on October 7,  the Jewish state found itself under attack on seven fronts: in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Yemen. Meanwhile, its enemies came out of the woodwork in Europe and North America as antisemitic and anti-Zionist demonstrations exploded on college campuses and city streets. From Houthi attacks on international shipping to “tentifadas” on American campuses, it is not hard to see that something more than just support for Gaza is at work here. Many different groups are hitching a ride on the Israel-Palestine conflict. 

What are the hidden agendas of antisemites and anti-Zionists? What are the implications of this agenda for national security? And what is to be done? To discuss these questions, Hudson’s Michael Doran hosts Daniel Schwammenthal, the director of the American Jewish Committee’s Transatlantic Institute; Ilan Berman, the vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council; Professor Paul Caresse of Arizona State University; and Senior Fellow Liel Leibovitz.

Last year, Chinese diplomats brokered an Iran–Saudi Arabia deal that elevated Beijing’s status as a mediator in the Middle East. China hoped the deal would induce a greater “wave of reconciliation” in the region and strengthen its position. But Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel changed Beijing’s calculations.

To discuss China’s ambitions in the Middle East, Beijing’s position in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and what this all means for American interests in the region, Hudson’s Zineb Riboua hosts a discussion with Senior Fellow John Lee and Atlantic Council Nonresident Fellow Tuvia Gering.

Although Latin America’s economies have stabilized since the COVID-19 pandemic, economic growth in most of the region has stalled, and its forecasted growth rates are the lowest of any region in the world. Such low growth will mean greater poverty and inequality, leaving citizens’ expectations for greater economic opportunity unfulfilled.

While a slowing global economy, high investment costs, and many other factors play a role, persistently low productivity in the region is an important constraint on growth. The World Bank has pointed to the need for greater competition in Latin America’s economies, which would improve productivity by accelerating innovation and technological improvements, delivering important benefits to consumers. The World Bank has also highlighted the geography of productivity and outlined promising ideas for how Latin American cities can once again drive economic growth.

Join Hudson for a conversation with World Bank economists William Maloney and Elena Ianchovichina on how productivity gains could help accelerate economic growth in Latin America.

Long a crossroads between East and West, the Black Sea region today occupies a crucial geography from which the future security and prosperity of the transatlantic community will radiate. Russia’s unrelenting, unprovoked war against Ukraine has focused the world on the Black Sea. In the process, the world has grown to appreciate the role of Romania as a shoreline of stability.

Twenty years after joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Romania is one of America’s strongest and closest allies, with an ambitious and ongoing defense modernization program centered on American-made capabilities. The strategic partnership between the United States and Romania has further manifested itself through economic and security agreements, joint exercises, and a US presence at key bases in Romania.

Join Hudson for a discussion with Romanian Foreign Minister Luminiţa-Teodora Odobescu on why Russia’s war against Ukraine and the broader contest for the future of the Black Sea region is a global inflection point with far-reaching ramifications. The West today faces a stark choice: disengage and watch the Black Sea radiate instability and embolden autocrats, or seize the opportunity to transform the region into a driver of future transatlantic prosperity and security.

Last year, Chinese diplomats brokered an Iran–Saudi Arabia deal that elevated Beijing’s status as a mediator in the Middle East. China hoped the deal would induce a greater “wave of reconciliation” in the region and strengthen its position. But Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel changed Beijing’s calculations.

To discuss China’s ambitions in the Middle East, Beijing’s position in the Israel-Hamas conflict, and what this all means for American interests in the region, Hudson’s Zineb Riboua hosts a discussion with Senior Fellow John Lee and Atlantic Council Nonresident Fellow Tuvia Gering.

United States Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) have served as cochairs of the bipartisan Senate North Atlantic Treaty Organization Observer Group since its reestablishment in 2018. The two senators have been outspoken in their support for the alliance, including NATO’s recent round of enlargement to Sweden and Finland.

Both have also been stalwart in their support of Ukraine. As they wrote to President Joe Biden in April, “We believe Ukraine should be offered a realistic path to NATO membership once all NATO Alliance members agree that Ukraine has met the conditions and requirements for membership.”

Additionally, the senators have underscored the importance of burden sharing, which they reinforced in a letter last month urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to increase his country’s defense spending. They have supported the idea, acknowledged at the NATO summit in Vilnius last year, that spending 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense should be the floor—not the ceiling—for members.

Please join Senior Fellow Peter Rough for a discussion with the senators on NATO, Ukraine, the Black Sea region, and transatlantic relations just weeks before the Washington summit.

When Abiy Ahmed unexpectedly became Ethiopia’s prime minister in April 2018, he rapidly unleashed a wave of liberal political and economic reforms and shocked the world by making peace with longtime foe Eritrea. This earned him international adoration that culminated in the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

Just a year later, however, Africa’s second largest state descended into a horrific civil war that left hundreds of thousands dead and tarnished Abiy’s reformist image. Though his regime nearly collapsed during the war, Abiy ultimately emerged victorious and now rules over a country that is at once internally unstable and regionally ambitious.

The Economist’s Africa correspondent, Tom Gardner, joins Hudson Research Fellow James Barnett to discuss Gardner’s new book, The Abiy Project: God, Power and War in the New Ethiopia, and Ethiopia’s future in the volatile and strategically vital Red Sea region.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies, is developing 6G specifications through the International Mobile Telecommunications 2030 (IMT-2030) program, aiming to release them by 2030. This program, introduced in the 6G framework document, outlines the vision, timelines, and candidate technologies for next generation telecommunications.

IMT-2030 aims to connect humans, machines, and software to enable various applications and services. The framework promises immersive experiences for humans through advanced human-machine interfaces like extended reality (XR) displays, haptic sensors, and multisensory interfaces. Machines are expected to become intelligent, autonomous, and precise as they benefit from advancements in machine perception and interaction and artificial intelligence management.

In this vision, advanced sensors and AI facilitate seamless interaction between humans and machines in the physical and digital worlds. IMT-2030 integrates sensing and AI capabilities into communication, serving as a fundamental infrastructure for emerging user and application trends. The program also supports diverse use cases, including direct voice communication.

Moreover, IMT-2030 technology is anticipated to promote economic growth, societal change, digital equality, and ubiquitous connectivity while also enhancing security and resilience.

In a Hudson event, Professor Kiran Kuchi of the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad will discuss technology trends, network evolution, AI-driven devices for 6G, and the integration and interoperability of terrestrial and non-terrestrial systems.

In an era of rising geopolitical instability, energy is an increasingly valuable tool to promote peace and economic stability as authoritarian regimes seek to undermine freedom and the United States–led world order.

Join Hudson Institute for a two-part event on how the US can effectively wield its natural resources to achieve energy independence and aid its allies.

The war in Ukraine offers numerous lessons regarding the future of military operations. One of the most important—and most underreported—is the value of adaptation. Ukrainian troops, previously on the offensive thanks to Western precision weapons, are now on the defensive as their rockets and bombs miss targets due to Russian electronic warfare. In the Black Sea, Ukraine’s early naval losses suggested Russian dominance. But lethal new naval drones have restored Ukraine’s access to the open ocean and constrained Russia’s fleet to its own coastline.  

The United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization militaries will likely face a similar challenge in future confrontations against Russia, China, or their proxies. Merely stockpiling today’s weapons or expanding their production capacity could lock in obsolescence against technologically sophisticated sophisticated opponents. US and allied militaries will need an industrial base that can both modify today’s weapons or combat systems and produce them in volume—then be prepared to repeat the cycle in response to enemy countermeasures. 

Join Hudson and the Apex Conference Series for a three-part event discussing the challenges and opportunities facing Western militaries and defense industries as they attempt to achieve relevant capability at scale.

Agenda

12:00 p.m. | Remarks and Fireside Chat

• Rob Wittman, United States Representative, First District of Virginia

Moderators

• Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute
• Dan Patt, Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

12:45 p.m. | Lunch

1:15 p.m. | Panel 1: The DoD’s Efforts to Achieve Relevant Capability at Scale

• Aditi Kumar, Deputy Director, Strategy, Policy, National Security Partnerships, Defense Innovation Unit
• Lt. Gen. Robert M. Collins, Principal Military Deputy to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology
• Mitch Skiles, Senior Vice President, Army Programs, Palantir Technologies
• Andy Green, Executive Vice President and President of Mission Technologies Division, HII

Moderator

• Nadia Schadlow, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

2:15 p.m. | Panel 2: Industry’s Efforts to Develop New Approaches to Adapt and Scale 

• Joe Laurenti, Chief Executive Officer, Ursa Major
• Michael Brasseur, Chief Strategy Officer, Saab
• Michael Hiatt, Chief Engineer, Epirus
• Josh Martin, Vice President for Government Relations, Varda Industries

Moderators

• Bryan Clark, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute
• Dan Patt, Senior Fellow, Center for Defense Concepts and Technology, Hudson Institute

3:00 p.m. | Reception

The United States’ patent system has been a driver of economic growth and a primary reason for American global technological leadership in the twenty-first century. A weakened patent system, however, has led to the rise of predatory infringement, a deliberate decision by a company to engage in patent theft because it is cheaper than obtaining permission (licensing) and paying for the use of someone else’s technological innovation.

What has caused the weakening of the US patent system? What is the evidence of predatory infringement? And what is the policy significance of predatory actors’ theft of other companies’ innovative technologies? A panel of experts will explain the legal developments in patent law, the economic impact of predatory infringement, and the evidence-based reforms that could restore the US patent system’s historical status as the global gold standard.

The Chinese Communist Party operates the largest state-run forced labor program in the world, enslaving an estimated 3 million Uyghurs. Exploitation of that scale and scope cannot continue without robust condemnation and a swift response. That’s why Congress passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in December 2021. This landmark legislation aims to stop goods produced with Uyghur forced labor from entering the United States and ultimately stop Uyghur forced labor from happening in the first place.

More than two years after the law’s passage, enough time has passed to evaluate the UFLPA’s strengths and weaknesses. Join Hudson for a discussion on how the US and its partners can best strengthen efforts to tackle and combat Uyghur forced labor.

Please join NATO Public Forum think tank consortium members Hudson Institute, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), the Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and GLOBSEC for a conversation with NATO Chair of the Military Committee(CMC) Admiral Rob Bauer, the alliance’s highest-ranking military official. 

Admiral Bauer is visiting the United States in the lead-up to the Washington summit to talk about the alliance’s strengths and speak frankly about its challenges. As he told the Wall Street Journal in April, “Politicians always talk about cooperation, but in practical terms they don’t have a clue.” 

The CMC has also made it a point to regularly meet with key private sector figures to improve NATO’s industrial base. As the Journal described his thinking, “the West needs not only to boost military production; it must fundamentally rethink what defense means, starting with the private sector.”

On May 29, for the first time since the end of apartheid in 1994, South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC)’s vote share fell below the 50 percent threshold necessary for unilaterally forming a government. Urgent coalition negotiations are ongoing to meet the constitutionally mandated 14-day deadline for parliament to select a president, but there is immense uncertainty about the outcome. The stakes are high for one of Africa’s most important countries: the outcomes for South Africa’s economy, society, and foreign policy could vary radically depending on the coalition’s composition.

Senior Fellow Joshua Meservey will moderate a discussion to examine the likelihood of different coalition scenarios and their possible impact on South Africa’s economy, society, and foreign policy. Discussants will provide a granular breakdown of the electoral results and the ongoing coalition negotiations and offer insights about South Africa’s political and economic trajectory, gleaned from decades living, working, and investing in South Africa.

Russia continues to export vast amounts of gas and oil to Europe while importing military goods and mission critical hardware to fuel its war against Ukraine. Some of Moscow’s most notorious strategic corruption projects, NordStream and TurkStream, and their related state capture networks continue to operate despite more than a dozen rounds of sanctions imposed by the European Union and Group of Seven. 

Russia’s “no-limits” partnership with China, Europe’s lack of robust common sanctions enforcement, the patchwork of improperly integrated anti–money laundering and criminal prosecution frameworks, and governments and other stakeholders that continue to enable Russia by seeking gains from transactional diplomacy have all emboldened Moscow’s strategic corruption efforts. This has negatively affected the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s geopolitical and geoeconomic standing, particularly in frontier regions like the Black Sea and the Balkans.

Much like it relies on the American defense sector, Europe still relies on the United States to implement effective economic security policies. The EU should accelerate the development of its common institutions for sanctions enforcement and other economic security measures, prioritizing decoupling from Russia’s oil and gas networks. The US can aid this process by continuing to intervene more assertively in high-profile cases and by providing capacity-building support and cooperation.

For weeks, hundreds of thousands of Georgians have peacefully demonstrated across the country against the “Russian Law,” a bill designed by the Georgian Dream party to stifle and restrict civil society and political opposition. Georgia’s Western friends have warned that the law is not compatible with Euro-Atlantic integration. But the Kremlin has supported Georgian Dream’s measures. In addition to the harm the law will do to Georgia’s democracy and Euro-Atlantic path, there are serious implications for the Black Sea region if Tbilisi fully falls under the influence of Moscow.

Join Hudson for an expert panel on the regional implications of this crisis.

Niger’s 2023 military coup led to swift changes, and many now wonder what’s next for West African security cooperation. As American troops move out and Russian troops move in, will United States counterterrorism operations continue in Niger and the Sahel region?

West African security experts Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim of International Crisis Group, Malik Samuel of the Institute for Security Studies, and Aneliese Bernard of Strategic Stabilization Advisors join Hudson Research Fellow James Barnett for a discussion moderated by Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt.

On July 10, President Joe Biden will gather fellow North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders in Washington to celebrate 75 years of the alliance and chart a direction for the way ahead. Over the course of NATO’s existence, warfare has changed in dramatic ways, punctuated by offset strategies and revolutions in military affairs. Today, the large-scale war in Ukraine is spawning battlefield innovations, which the alliance is attempting to process and understand. 

To discuss the evolution of NATO warfighting capabilities and the state of the alliance, please join NATO Public Forum think tank consortium members Hudson Institute, the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), the Atlantic Council, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, and GLOBSEC for a conversation with four supreme allied commanders Europe (SACEURs): Generals Wes Clark (1997–2000), Phil Breedlove (2013–2016), Curtis Scaparrotti (2016–2019), and Tod Wolters (2019–2022).

Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia, will moderate the discussion.

Niger’s 2023 military coup led to swift changes, and many now wonder what’s next for West African security cooperation. As American troops move out and Russian troops move in, will United States counterterrorism operations continue in Niger and the Sahel region?

West African security experts Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim of International Crisis Group, Malik Samuel of the Institute for Security Studies, and Aneliese Bernard of Strategic Stabilization Advisors join Hudson Research Fellow James Barnett for a discussion moderated by Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt.

This event is part of the Motwani Jadeja US-India Dialogue series funded by the Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation.

Amid a shifting and increasingly competitive global landscape, technology cooperation has emerged as a vital component of the United States–India strategic partnership. In May 2022, the two countries announced the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), which was launched in January 2023. Over the last year and a half, governments, businesses, and academic institutions have expanded cooperation in both the civilian and defense arenas.

Join Hudson for a discussion on what role technology will play in deepening the US-India relationship with Ambassador Sripriya Ranganathan, Carnegie India Director Rudra Chaudhuri, Carnegie India Fellow Konark Bhandari, United States Institute of Peace Senior Fellow Daniel Markey, United States India Strategic Partnership Forum Senior Advisor Vikram Singh, and Center for New American Security Senior Fellow Lisa Curtis. Hudson Institute’s Aparna Pande will moderate the conversation.

Join Hudson in welcoming Ambassador Nikki R. Haley for her inaugural event as the Walter P. Stern Chair. She will deliver a special address on United States foreign policy amid wars in the Middle East and Europe and growing tensions in Asia. Following her remarks, she will sit down with Hudson’s Peter Rough for a fireside chat.

Hudson Board of Trustees Chair Sarah May Stern will deliver introductory remarks.

Over two years on, the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War continue to reverberate throughout the Black Sea and Western Balkan regions. 

Russia’s latest push threatens to break Ukraine’s front lines. Georgia’s free and open society hangs in the balance as a pro-Moscow government debates a restrictive new “Russian law.” North Atlantic Treaty Organization member Montenegro’s leadership is falling under the Kremlin’s influence. Under Milorad Dodik, Republika Srpska relentlessly seeks to secede from Bosnia and Herzegovina. And the European Union is losing its allure in Belgrade and Tbilisi as Serbian and Georgian elites kowtow to Vladimir Putin.

Hudson, in partnership with the US-Europe Alliance, will host two panel discussions to examine the futures of these critical regions.

The Pentagon’s $820 billion budget is the United States government’s biggest expense other than Social Security and health care. However, despite its obvious importance, the Defense Department’s budgeting process is notoriously inflexible and slow. As a result, current operational and security needs often do not match spending priorities established two or more years ago.

Congress recently established an independent Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform to identify ways to improve the defense budgeting process. A key recommendation in the commission’s final report is to transform the structure of the defense budget itself—realigning it to better connect funding to desired outcomes. Rather than organizing spending by inputs in a “cube” with categories of activity such as research, procurement, or operations on one side and military services and programs on the other sides, the proposed new structure would divide the budget primarily in terms of missions and capabilities.  

Proponents argue that this approach would foster greater transparency, agility, and innovation by allowing the Pentagon to move money where it is needed to address challenges and opportunities. Skeptics raise concerns about ensuring adequate oversight when funding is not tied to specific inputs.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Dan Patt for a discussion on restructuring the defense budget with two commissioners who shaped this proposal—Jamie Morin, former Pentagon director of cost assessment and program evaluation, and David Norquist, former deputy secretary of defense and under secretary of defense (comptroller). The panel will explore the problems this reform aims to solve, alternative approaches the panel considered, how increased flexibility could reshape incentives and decision-making, and potential downsides and implementation obstacles.

On June 2, Mexicans will head to the polls to elect over 20,000 national, state, and local officials, including the president, members of Congress, and numerous governors. The two leading contenders for the presidency, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xóchitl Gálvez, offer starkly contrasting visions for Mexico’s future. Sheinbaum, of the ruling MORENA party, seeks to continue the nationalist Fourth Transformation agenda, which began under incumbent President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). In contrast, Gálvez, the opposition candidate, advocates for a more market-oriented approach, promising reforms in key areas such as energy policy and the fight against organized crime.

This election has significant implications for the complex Mexico–United States relationship. Sheinbaum and Gálvez disagree on the extent to which Mexico should align itself with the US on critical issues like migration, security cooperation, and trade. Additionally, the election takes place against a backdrop of concerns over the erosion of democratic institutions under AMLO.

Join Hudson for a discussion of possible post-election scenarios with Covington Senior Advisor Kim Breier, Dentons Global Advisors Partner Antonio Ortiz-Mena, and National Defense University Professor Arturo Sotomayor.

This event is part of the Motwani Jadeja US-India Dialogue series funded by the Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation.

As the world’s oldest and largest democracies, respectively, the United States and India constitute key anchor points of the democratic world, and the two nations have significantly deepened their partnership over the past three decades. Shared values and strong people-to-people connections remain the core of US-India ties.

But the relationship is also based on a mutual commitment to economic engagement, marked by deepening trade relations worth over $190 billion. Additionally, US-India defense relations have evolved in recent years, reflecting shared security interests and a commitment to a free, open, inclusive, and rules-based international order.

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion on the big picture of US-India relations with Hudson fellows Walter Russell Mead and Aparna Pande.

When Estonia joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 29, 2004, the country’s foreign minister said, “Ever since regaining our independence, one of the main tasks of every government of Estonia has been the security of our nation. Today, I can say that we are much closer to a peaceful and confident feeling in our hearts.”

But NATO has not only kept Estonia safe from existential threats. The alliance has also helped establish a framework that spurred the economic growth, inward investment, and entrepreneurial vibrancy that have become hallmarks of Estonia’s identity.

Tallinn has proven itself a serious defense actor, consistently living up to its Article III commitments to maintain and develop its security capacities. Estonian forces have reliably proven to be some of the most active contributors to NATO missions. Estonia remains one of Ukraine’s strongest supporters, materially and financially aiding Kyiv’s fight for freedom.

What insights should policymakers draw from Estonia’s 20-year NATO success story? How can Estonia’s experience guide aspirant nations like Ukraine through the membership process? How have Tallinn’s views on NATO shifted over the past two decades? And what does the alliance need to do to maintain credible deterrence at a time of heightened threats?

Ambassador Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, the undersecretary for political affairs at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will join Hudson for a conversation on the Estonian experience in NATO.

Fresh off a string of policy victories, United States Representative Dan Crenshaw (TX-02) joins Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a conversation about the critical foreign aid package that recently passed both chambers of Congress. Specifically, the package contains vital support for Taiwan and the forced divestiture of TikTok—both of which are important policy steps to counter the Chinese Communist Party.

Congressman Crenshaw will explain why this bill—and future national security legislation—is crucial to the interests of the American people.

Join Hudson Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead, United Kingdom Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy, and Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, for a conversation about the challenges and opportunities facing the transatlantic community and the future of the special relationship.

Sweden’s total defense concept includes a civil defense component that “encompasses the whole of society and comprises the collective resilience in the event of war or danger of war.” Civil defense consists of three pillars: defending the population, safeguarding important societal functions, and contributing to the armed forces’ ability to respond to an attack. Russia’s hybrid attacks against the West and indiscriminate targeting of civilians in Ukraine have underscored the importance of a robust civil defense.

How can Stockholm’s new North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies learn from Sweden’s civil defense experience to harden the vulnerable elements of Western societies? How does Sweden employ a whole-of-society approach to strengthen its total defense? What has Sweden learned from the war in Ukraine, and how can this enhance its civil defense capabilities? What is the Swedish view of the geopolitical situation in Europe and beyond?

Join Hudson for a discussion with Swedish Minister for Civil Defense Carl-Oskar Bohlin on the Swedish approach to civil defense.

Hudson’s Michael Doran hosts Columbia University Professor Ran Kivetz, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East Executive Director Asaf Romirowsky, and Senior Fellow and Tablet Editor at Large Liel Leibovitz. They will discuss the causes of the recent slate of pro-Hamas encampments on American college campuses, who is funding these protests, and what administrators and policymakers should do about this nascent national security threat.

For several days, Georgians have demonstrated on the streets of Tbilisi against the Georgian Dream–led government’s moves to derail the country’s Euro-Atlantic future. Nona Mamulashvili, a former member of the Georgian parliament and cofounder of the Gamziri civic platform, has participated in the nightly protests. Hundreds of miles away, her brother Mamuka Mamulashvili commands the Georgian Legion in Ukraine. He and his troops have been fighting Russia there since 2014. 

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey for a conversation with the two siblings, who each serve on the frontlines of freedom in different ways. They will discuss what is at stake for Georgia, Ukraine, and the Euro-Atlantic community.

After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, North Atlantic Treaty Organization leaders met in Madrid, Spain, to chart a new Strategic Concept for the alliance. The document identified Russia as “the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area.” One year later, in Vilnius, Lithuania, NATO leaders met again to adopt a new set of regional defense plans to guard against Russian aggression.

Now comes the implementation. This July, NATO leaders will meet in Washington to assess the alliance’s progress in meeting its deterrence and defense targets. How strong is the West’s defense industrial base, and how prepared is NATO to defend itself if necessary? How will Sweden’s full membership in the alliance affect Northern Europe? 

Moreover, the war in Ukraine continues, and Kyiv has made no secret of its aspiration to join the alliance. So these are difficult questions that allied leaders cannot put off into the future. 

Please join Hudson Institute’s Peter Rough as he sits down with Lithuania’s minister of defense, Laurynas Kasčiūnas, for a conversation on these topics and more. 

Kasčiūnas was appointed minister of defense just last month after serving as chair of the parliamentary Committee on National Security and Defence (NSGK). A past head of the Eastern Europe Studies Centre (EESC), Lithuania’s top think tank, Kasčiūnas wrote his doctoral dissertation on Ukraine’s relations with the European Union.

The foreign policy actions of many Latin American governments often contradict their principles. This disconnect causes leaders to pursue short-term objectives that do not address the region’s most pressing challenges, such as authoritarianism and organized crime.

The Maduro regime’s assassination of a Venezuelan exile in Chile and the Ecuadorian government’s arrest of a convicted former vice president at the Mexican embassy in Quito illustrate how poor foreign policy exacerbates lawlessness and democratic regression in the region.

Join Hudson for a conversation with academic and columnist Hector Schamis on how Latin American governments’ approach to foreign policy destabilizes the region and what a better approach might look like.

The historic April summit between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida signaled a new era in United States–Japan relations. The summit produced agreements for enhancing economic ties, advancing technological innovation, coordinating diplomatic efforts, and strengthening security cooperation.

The president said that this is the most significant upgrade of the US-Japan alliance since it was first established. This upgrade comes at a critical juncture when the democratic nations of the world need to have all hands on deck. President Biden has made it clear that Japan is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States.

Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will join Hudson Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin to examine the new outlook for this key alliance.

As Russia scores localized gains on land, Ukrainian forces have achieved major successes in the Black Sea Region (BSR). The Ukrainians have sunk or damaged some one-third of the Black Sea Fleet, forced Moscow to move naval assets away from occupied Crimea, and put Russia on the defensive. These successes challenge the narrative that Russia’s war against Ukraine is a stalemate and demonstrate Ukraine’s determination to preserve its identity, sovereignty, and independence.

Ukraine’s gains are real and strategically significant, but the Battle for the Black Sea is not over. Major Russian land, sea, and air assets remain in Crimea and in the BSR, and Moscow is using them to continue its quest to subordinate Ukraine. The war will be won or lost on land and in the air.

If Russia wins or ends the war on its terms, the interests of all Black Sea littoral states will be negatively affected. But so too will those of the United States, Europe, and the West more broadly. The US has a major interest in a free and open Black Sea and a peaceful, stable, and prosperous BSR.

Join Hudson for an event to present the results of an in-depth study written by a US–Romanian–Ukrainian team: Hudson Senior Fellow Matt Boyse, New Strategy Center CEO George Scutaru, New Strategy Center Senior Fellow Dr. Antonia Colibasanu, and New Geopolitics Research Network Director Mykhailo Samus.

Read the study, The Battle for the Black Sea Is Not Over, here.

Hudson is delighted to welcome Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala for a major policy address on the future of the transatlantic alliance.

Since assuming office in November 2021, Fiala has placed transatlantic cooperation at the heart of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy and marshalled crucial support for Ukraine in its hour of need.

As Fiala put it in October 2022, “Ukraine’s fight is our fight too. The Czech Republic’s fight, the European Union’s fight, the whole of Europe’s fight. Our own geopolitical prospects depend on the outcome of this war.”

Under Fiala’s leadership, Czechia is modernizing its military and increasing its defense budget. It has launched an initiative to repair and upgrade Ukrainian armor on Czech soil and hosts the third-most Ukrainian refugees in Europe. Most recently, and to much acclaim, the Czech Republic has spearheaded an initiative to source ammunition for Ukrainian forces from stockpiles across the globe. 

Join Hudson to hear Prime Minister Fiala’s understanding of the current moment and a Czech prescription for transatlantic relations in turbulent times.

Prosperity Guardian, the United States–led military operation designed to end Houthi attacks on international shipping, has failed.

Michael Roberts and Salvatore Mercogliano, two leading experts on international shipping, will join Senior Fellow Michael Doran for a virtual event. They will discuss the Houthi attacks’ consequences for the global economy and the balance of power between the US and its global rivals—in particular, how Iran and its proxies’ weaponization of global supply chains strengthens China.

As United States military ships set sail to the Gaza coast, many questions remain unanswered about President Joe Biden’s plan to construct a floating pier to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians. The Department of Defense is expected to deploy over 1,000 service members to support the project. But how will the Pentagon ensure their safety? How will the aid be delivered in a combat zone?

Join Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg and Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for an in-depth analysis of this risky mission.

Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth will introduce a discussion with Senior Fellow Jonathan Ward on his book The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph over China. They will cover how the US can outcompete China on the world stage economically, diplomatically, militarily, and ideologically.

Then, David Feith, former US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Roslyn Layton, founder of China Tech Threat, will respond and highlight critical challenges for US-China semiconductor policy, namely America’s strong rules but leaky enforcement.

Although Belarus gained independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke up, it has been the crown jewel of Russia’s sphere of influence for three decades since. Domestically, Belarus remains firmly in the grip of its authoritarian ruler, Alexander Lukashenko, who has maintained power since 1994 through brutal repression and a series of unfree and unfair elections.

Nevertheless, Belarusian civil society has a strong identity and a tradition of peaceful protest in support of freedom and democracy. In 1995, Andrei Sannikov resigned in protest from his position as deputy foreign minister of Belarus after Lukashenko put forward a referendum that would pave the way for the strongman’s consolidation of power. Sannikov has fought for Belarus’s freedom ever since. In 2005, he won the Bruno Kreisky Prize for Service to Human Rights. In 2010, Sannikov ran for president in a sham election in which Lukashenko claimed to have won more than 80 percent of the vote. In the aftermath, Sannikov led a peaceful demonstration in Minsk’s main square. Riot police attacked, badly injuring Sannikov. He was subsequently arrested, imprisoned, and tortured. Under international pressure, the Lukashenko regime released the opposition leader in April 2012. Threatened with rearrest, Sannikov left Belarus and received political asylum in the United Kingdom.

At Hudson, Sannikov will offer remarks on Belarus’s strategic importance, Russia’s regional ambitions, and prospects for political change in Minsk, followed by a question-and-answer session with Hudson Senior Fellow Tod Lindberg.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Brigham McCown for a conversation with Paul H. Tice about the trend of sustainable investing. They will discuss how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors affect corporate decisions and government policy in the energy sector. 

Tice spent 40 years on Wall Street working for some of the energy industry’s most recognizable firms. He is also the author of The Race to Zero: How ESG Investing Will Crater the Global Financial System.

In January, Taiwan held another successful democratic election. Prior to the election, however, the People’s Republic of China attempted to influence the results by spreading lies on social media about the candidates, the candidates’ political parties, and Taiwanese domestic issues. But the PRC’s political interests aren’t limited to Taiwan. According to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the PRC, through social media sites like TikTok, attempted to influence the 2022 United States midterm elections—and Beijing will likely do the same in the 2024 US presidential election. 

Join Hudson for a panel with some of the leading organizations combating the PRC’s influence operations in Taiwan and around the world. 

The developing world is mired in its worst debt crisis in a generation, with 60 percent of countries facing debt distress according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the post-COVID world, the United States and its traditional allies have not been able to muster the political capital to institute long-term solutions for these developing nations as their debt-ridden economies deteriorate. China has become the largest source of development assistance but is reluctant to work with multilateral development banks and Western creditors to help find sustainable solutions. 

Former World Bank President David Malpass has been sounding the alarm about this crisis. At Hudson, Malpass will present a new paper outlining constructive and cooperative ways to address these issues. Then he will sit down for a discussion with Senior Fellows Thomas Duesterberg and Joshua Meservey.

On the eve of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s state visit to the United States on April 10, Hudson Institute will hold a half-day conference to examine the benefits of the deep and expanding US-Japan economic relationship. The event will focus on the importance of economic security and reliable supply chains; Japan’s significant and longstanding foreign direct investment across the US; and the potential benefits that an enriched US-Japan partnership offers to American workers and allied technological leadership.

Hudson’s Japan Chair will welcome Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb to make a major economic announcement. Following his address, the governor will sit down for a fireside chat with Hudson Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein. Afterward, Hudson will host successive expert panels to discuss economic security cooperation between Washington and Tokyo and the importance of Japanese investment in the United States.

Mike Pence, the forty-eighth vice president of the United States, will give an address on the importance of the US-Israel relationship. Then, he will sit down for a fireside chat with Hudson Japan Chair Ken Weinstein.

The recently released United States defense budget suggests that the US military is reaching its capability and capacity limits. The US force—which consists almost entirely of crewed multimission ships, aircraft, and vehicles—is too expensive to grow within realistic fiscal constraints but too small to meet America’s growing national security needs. To fund next-generation crewed platforms and sustain those already in the force, the Pentagon now must retire more ships and aircraft each year than it buys.

The Department of Defense could escape this force structure death spiral by incorporating uncrewed systems as an integral part of the US military, rather than as extensions of the crewed force that handle only “dirty, dull, and dangerous” missions. As demonstrated by ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Red Sea, uncrewed systems could contribute to each link in US kill chains, improving the adaptability and resilience of US forces and achieving scale at much lower costs compared to crewed systems.

Join Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion with David Alexander, president of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, about the growing role of uncrewed systems in warfare, how the US could exploit uncrewed technology in “hedge forces” like those the Pentagon is pursuing through its Replicator initiative, and how the US military can improve its ability to integrate uncrewed technology into the force.

To compete with the People’s Republic of China, Republicans need to reach a strong foreign policy consensus that bridges party divides. In We Win, They Lose: Republican Foreign Policy and the New Cold War, Mathew Kroenig and Dan Negrea argue that such a consensus, based on a fusion of Donald Trump’s and Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies, is within reach.

Kroenig and Negrea will join Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs to discuss the path forward for policymakers hoping to usher in a new era of American leadership.

The People’s Republic of China is ratcheting up tensions in the Taiwan Strait following William Lai’s election as president of Taiwan. In this critical moment, Representative Young Kim (R-CA) joins Hudson for a discussion with Japan Chair Ken Weinstein to analyze the array of threats China poses to the United States and its allies in the Indo-Pacific. 

The discussion will highlight the dynamics of strategic competition between the US and China, assess Congress’s efforts to hold the PRC accountable, and explore new means to demonstrate America’s unwavering commitment to defend Taiwan.

Modern economies cannot operate without reliable communications, and the worldwide demand for greater connectivity and information will only continue to increase. Communications security is therefore vital to both economic security and national security. The United States and Japan need to work together to deliver a shared vision for diverse and resilient communications infrastructure for future generations through undersea cables, satellites, digital services, or other means. 

The fourteenth US-Japan Dialogue on Digital Economy highlighted American and Japanese interest in collaboration in areas like Open RAN networks and engagement with third countries. Join Hudson for a discussion on these and other areas where the US and Japan can work together to build the future of communications security.

In his new book From Peril to Partnership: US Security Assistance and the Bid to Stabilize Colombia and Mexico, Paul J. Angelo draws on years of field experience to provide a comparative analysis of two major United States security assistance initiatives, Plan Colombia and the Mérida Initiative.

Join Hudson for a discussion with the author on the factors that enable or impede successful security assistance and on his recommendations for future US security efforts.

Join Senior Fellow Michael Doran, Mosaic Editor Jonathan Silver, and Council on Foreign Relations Senior Fellow Elliott Abrams for a discussion on the future of United States–Israel relations, moderated by Research Fellow Zineb Riboua.

They will discuss the changes in Israel’s foreign and domestic policies since the October 7 massacre, the Biden administration’s Middle East policy and its impacts, and the rise of anti-Zionism in the US.

Latvia has long been one of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s most vocal members in warning about the threat Vladimir Putin and Russian revanchism pose to the European security order and the West. President Edgars Rinkēvičs recently said that “Ukraine is not only fighting for us but fighting instead of us.” Riga has also been one of Ukraine’s most robust supporters since Russia’s illegal 2014 annexation of Crimea, a strong advocate of sanctions against Moscow, and the leader of a coalition to provide drones to Ukraine.

Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for a discussion with Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds on developments in Latvia and elsewhere in the Baltics, the war in Ukraine, and key issues for NATO, including alliance enlargement, secretary general succession, and the upcoming seventy-fifth-anniversary summit in Washington.

Iranian proxies threaten to overwhelm Israel’s defenses in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attack. Meanwhile, as Tehran supplies Russia with crucial weapons, Ukrainian munition shortages have cost Kyiv both territory and the lives of its brave citizens. In the struggle against the new axis of authoritarianism, the United States has been unable or unwilling to provide its frontline allies with the support they need.

To discuss how America can reverse this calamity and return to a position of global strength, Distinguished Fellow Mike Pompeo, the seventieth US secretary of state, will sit down with Michael Doran, the director of Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.

On February 29, the Republican Study Committee, chaired by Congressman Kevin Hern (OK-1), introduced the Counter Communist China Act. The bill would regulate Chinese investment in American business and sanction the Chinese Communist Party’s political activities in the United States. 

Join Congressman Hern and Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs for a conversation on how Congress can restore America’s advantage over the People’s Republic of China in the new cold war.

In December 2022, Japan introduced three security documents that laid out Tokyo’s most ambitious defense plans since the creation of the Japan Self-Defense Forces in 1954. In the documents, Tokyo promised to increase its military spending to 2 percent of Japan’s GDP and develop counterstrike capabilities to bolster deterrence. The documents, along with Japan’s defense agreements with Australia and the United Kingdom and improved Japan–South Korea relations, illustrate Tokyo’s dynamic thinking about its security environment, partnership commitments, and defense and technological capabilities. 

To assess Japan’s ambitious defense transformation, Hudson’s Japan Chair will host a panel with senior Japanese and American security professionals to discuss Japan’s growing security challenges, its need for integrated and comprehensive approaches to security, and its opportunities for deeper cooperation with allies and partners.

The United States has a long history of global leadership on combating illicit finance, from the landmark Bank Secrecy Act of 1979 to coordinating international sanctions on Russia’s war economy. But a lack of transparency within the US financial system itself has made the system vulnerable to money laundering, sanctions evasion, and even terrorist financing.

The Biden administration and Congress have prioritized initiatives to close financial secrecy loopholes in recent years. These notably include the recently launched Beneficial Ownership Information Registry to tackle shell company abuse and new proposed rules to curb money laundering through real estate and other high-risk sectors of the US economy.

Overseeing these efforts within the Department of the Treasury is the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence (TFI), led by Under Secretary Brian Nelson. TFI is responsible for developing and implementing US government strategies to combat illicit finance, marshaling formidable enforcement, regulatory, and intelligence capabilities to target domestic and foreign threats to US national security. TFI also oversees component offices responsible for economic sanctions, financial intelligence, and asset forfeiture.

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Under Secretary Nelson on strengthening financial transparency to safeguard US national and economic security.

A month after an Iranian suicide drone killed three brave American soldiers at their post in Jordan, Iran-backed militants continue to spread chaos in the Middle East. Houthi rebels use Iranian-made weapons to attack shipping vessels in the Red Sea, disrupting up to one-fifth of the world’s cargo trade. American troops in the region have faced nearly 170 attacks from the Houthis and other Iran-backed groups since October 2023. 

Please join Representative Rich McCormick (GA-6), a retired Marine Corps commander, and Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a conversation on how to reestablish deterrence in the Middle East and protect American troops abroad.

This month marks two somber anniversaries for Ukraine: ten years since Russia’s invasion of Crimea, and two years since Russia launched its full-scale assault. Ukraine’s situation is grim as Kyiv struggles to sustain Western support while facing a much larger occupying power.

But there are reasons for optimism. Ukrainians are committed to their cause. It is within their power to defeat Russia and liberate their lands—but only if their international partners continue to support them.

Join Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia for a conference to commemorate ten years of occupation and two years of full-scale war. The event will examine the importance of the war for the European order, take stock of the conflict with senior Ukrainian and allied voices, and chart a path forward for the transatlantic community.

El Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele was reelected in a landslide after bringing peace to a country that had been wracked by gang violence for years. But improved security has come at a high cost for El Salvadorans, with Bukele presiding over mass incarceration, human rights violations, increasing corruption, and a government-controlled judiciary. Bukele has embraced charges of authoritarianism, calling himself the “world’s coolest dictator.”

El Salvador’s success has won admiration from around Latin America, and other leaders seeking to counter rising crime are imitating Bukele’s mano dura policies. Moreover, Bukele seems eager to export his model. 

Join Hudson Institute for a conversation with leading observers as they examine Bukele’s record and discuss what the adoption of the Bukele model could mean for other countries in the region.

Globalization blossomed in the decades after the Cold War ended, but the world is entering a new era characterized by geopolitical blocs. Elisabeth Braw takes on this topic in her new book Goodbye Globalization: The Return of a Divided World, in which she provides recommendations for Western policymakers and business officials looking to navigate this new era of geopolitical competition.

Senior Fellow and Director of Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia Peter Rough will welcome Braw to Hudson for a discussion of Goodbye Globalization.

Argentina is experiencing its worst economic crisis in a generation, with hyperinflation and cyclical debt crises plunging more than 40 percent of the population into poverty.

Because of this crisis, Javier Milei was elected with a radical agenda to confront entrenched political interests, slash government spending, and set Argentina back on the path to prosperity. But to succeed, the new president will also need to confront the ongoing effects of his predecessor’s sustained assault on the rule of law.

In December 2021, former President Christina Fernandez de Kirchner was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for fraudulently issuing $1 billion in government contracts. Kirchner has also been accused of colluding with Iran to cover up the Islamic Republic’s role in the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) and opening the country to malign Chinese and Russian influence. These and other scandals have had a corrosive effect on Argentina’s political and legal institutions, further undermining the country’s economic prospects and national security.

Join Hudson Institute for a discussion on restoring the rule of law in Argentina with Senior Fellow Marshall Billingslea and two former senior officials from Argentina’s financial intelligence unit, Mariano Federici and Maria Eugenia Talerico.

Beijing is systematically absorbing Hong Kong into its totalitarian regime in violation of China’s 1997 agreement with Britain to honor the city’s separate political, social, and economic system until 2047. Since the Chinese Communist Party imposed a sweeping national security law in June 2020, Hong Kong has seen its freedom of speech, press, and association curbed and its rule of law undermined. Mounting evidence shows that the CCP has recently begun to harness Hong Kong’s religious communities, aligning them with the CCP’s Sinicization policy, which tightly restricts religious practice and teachings on the mainland.

Jimmy Lai, the founder of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily and a self-educated entrepreneur, is now on trial. He will almost certainly be convicted by the special national security court, which boasts a 100 percent conviction rate. He faces charges of criticizing the CCP and defending democracy. Despite the CCP’s crackdown, he courageously chose to stay in his homeland in order to champion the rights and fundamental freedoms of all Hong Kongers. The CCP froze his bank accounts and forced him to shut his newspaper soon after enforcement of the national security law began. The 76-year-old has been imprisoned for three years and faces a possible life sentence.

The Wall Street Journal’s William McGurn and Hong Kong activist Frances Hui will join Nina Shea for a discussion of Lai’s heroism and the implications of his trial for Hong Kong. They will also examine the CCP’s stealth strategy to take over religious communities in Hong Kong—the last vestige of its free social system—and a possible United States policy response.

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches the two-year mark, it is imperative that transatlantic leaders keep their eyes on the war. After failing to divide the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the war’s early days, Russia’s plan is to outlast Ukraine and the Euro-Atlantic community. To overcome this, Washington and its partners urgently need to supply Ukraine with provisions, assistance, and training to demonstrate a credible long-term commitment to a Ukrainian victory.

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Estonia has published a strategy for how Ukraine could win the war by the end of 2026, Setting Transatlantic Defence up for Success: A Military Strategy for Ukraine’s Victory and Russia’s Defeat.

Hudson Institute, in partnership with the Estonian Embassy in Washington, will host a discussion on the report with Kusti Salm, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Defence of Estonia, and Peter Rough, director of Hudson Institute’s Center on Europe and Eurasia.

The October 7 attack and the ensuing war have permanently changed the lives of Israelis. What effect has the war had on Israel’s domestic politics? What are the main challenges Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces? Is the Biden administration restraining or supporting Israel?

To discuss these and other questions, Hudson Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Director Michael Doran will sit down for a discussion with Dr. Gadi Taub.

Slovakia under Prime Minister Eduard Heger had been one of the most robust Ukraine supporters in Europe since Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion. But Slovakia’s 2023 parliamentary election brought to power the opposing Smer party, which is less supportive of Kyiv. The Smer government under Robert Fico has also signaled its intention to adopt different policies on key domestic political, economic, and social issues. Slovakia will elect a new president in Spring 2024 and a new slate of members of the European Parliament in June.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for a discussion on current developments in Central Europe, especially Slovakia, and Russia’s war against Ukraine with Eduard Heger, Slovak prime minister from April 2021 until May 2023.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once thought to be the wealthiest man in Russia, was arrested and imprisoned by President Vladimir Putin in 2003 and now lives in exile. From London, he advocates against Russian aggression and provides unique insight into how the current Russian leadership thinks and operates. 

As Russia’s sham presidential election approaches and Moscow’s illegal occupation of Ukraine drags on, Mr. Khodorkovsky will sit down with former United Kingdom secretary of defence and longtime Putin critic Sir Liam Fox, MP, on what 2024 could bring for the Kremlin, peace and security in Europe, and America’s global interests.

The Foreign Extortion Prevention Act (FEPA) is the “most sweeping and consequential foreign bribery law in nearly half a century” according to Transparency International. By criminalizing corrupt foreign officials’ bribery demands, FEPA will protect American companies operating overseas and deter unfair competition from China’s state-owned enterprises. President Joe Biden signed FEPA into law in December 2023 after Congress included the bipartisan legislation in its annual defense spending bill.

Please join Hudson Institute for a fireside chat with Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC), chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe and a leading cosponsor of FEPA.

The AUKUS agreement—which includes Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—is best known for the nuclear submarines that Australia will receive at the end of this decade. But AUKUS’s lesser-known second pillar focuses on technology sharing and is more likely to affect the Australian Defense Force’s capability and capacity in the near term. Uncrewed systems are one of the foundations of AUKUS Pillar Two, which also includes hypersonic weapons, quantum technology, and electronic warfare. These emerging systems will be essential as Australia responds to intensifying security competition with China as well as challenges in border security and homeland defense. Like their counterparts in the US Department of Defense, Australian defense officials will need to formulate new business and development practices that allow for innovation within government policies and structures.

Join Hudson’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology for a discussion on these strategies with the Australian defense officials who are currently working to implement them.

The People’s Republic of China poses a colossal threat to American values and the freedom-based world order. No other nation that has confronted the United States and its allies has possessed China’s combination of economic and military strength, which enables Beijing’s exploitative and bellicose foreign policies.

If American citizens are not strong, Washington cannot lead internationally. If the US falters, despotic regimes led by the PRC will fill the void. And America can only succeed in defending freedom if it works diligently to create a new global alliance for freedom, linking established and nascent alliance structures to venerate liberty and the primacy of the individual.

Join Hudson’s China Center for a conversation with leading experts and diplomats on how the US can forge this new coalition.

For more than 200 years, the United States Marine Corps has been America’s “911 force”—the service that is always ready to respond to crises and conflicts in every theater. The USMC is constantly evolving to exploit new concepts and technologies, and now employs advanced missiles and artillery alongside unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, and cyber and electronic warfare. But even as they transform for the future, Marines are called upon to protect US allies and citizens in conflicts across the Middle East and Africa and to deter further aggression in Europe.

Please join Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a conversation with General Chris Mahoney, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, about the future of the USMC in a world of increasing competition and confrontation.

Last weekend’s election in Taiwan, which is officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is the most consequential presidential contest in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024. In this contentious yet free, open, fair, and democratic election, candidates from the three main political parties (the victorious Democratic Progressive Party, the main opposition Kuomintang, and the populist third party the Taiwan People’s Party) vigorously debated key issues for the island’s future. These issues are not only vital to the 23 million Taiwanese people, but also to regional and global prosperity and security. The momentous rise of Taiwan’s archenemy, the revanchist Communist China, is the most destabilizing factor in current geopolitics.

Please join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a discussion of these key issues with two of the most authoritative experts fresh out of the exhilarating Taiwanese presidential campaign: Vincent Chao, the spokesperson for President-elect William Lai, and Alexander Huang, special advisor to the chairman of the Kuomintang.

What are the long-term implications of the United States’ current economic challenges, federal debt, and demographic trends for American national security? Although the president recently signed the $886 billion 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, what is the future of US defense spending? How do important federal domestic programs, interest on the national debt, and persistent and growing entitlement programs affect the funds available for national security? What types of spending does the Defense Department prioritize, and what does this prioritization mean? 

Brigadier General (US Army, Ret.) Mike Meese will join Hudson Senior Fellow Harold Furchtgott-Roth to discuss these questions and more.

Hudson Senior Fellow James Przystup’s recent study examines how the Indo-Pacific security environment evolved during 2022, in part because of measures by key regional actors—such as the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and India—to strengthen deterrence. In addition, these countries expanded their diplomatic coordination and security cooperation, which reflected a strategic commitment among the region’s democracies to support a rules-based order and advance a shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific. At the same time, European democracies have continued to expand diplomatic and security engagement with Indo-Pacific partners.

In this event, Dr. Przystup and other experts will reflect on recent changes in the Indo-Pacific, how the US and its allies are working to build a multilayered network to shape the region’s strategic environment, and where greater cooperation and coordination are still needed.

While Taiwan’s new president will not take office for a few months after the election on January 13, the implications of this new government can already be felt throughout the region. What is the significance of the incoming government on United States–Taiwan relations? How will the new government handle its relations with the People’s Republic of China? Will the incoming government have the domestic and international support it needs to meet the multifaceted challenges facing Taiwan’s military, economy, and international relationships? Join Hudson for a discussion on the results of Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections.

The future of the West’s economic engagement with the People’s Republic of China is increasingly uncertain. Though the PRC seems integral to the global economy, it is an increasingly untrustworthy and dangerous partner for Western corporations. The Chinese government’s August 2023 raids on American corporations operating in China further signaled the need for firms to reconsider their relationships with the PRC. Against the backdrop of an international conversation regarding “decoupling” and “de-risking,” concerns about human rights in Chinese manufacturing, and the increasing national security risks the PRC poses, the United States business community needs a clearer understanding of the Chinese economy and the risks it poses to US corporations. At issue is not merely a few instances of aberrant behavior on the part of the PRC. Rather, US corporations hold a fundamental misconception about the PRC as a free and open market economy.

Please join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a panel on leading US corporations’ involvement with the PRC, and the future of US corporate engagement with China.

The United States–Finland relationship has grown closer than ever, and developments in the transatlantic community have shown that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s importance is greater now than it has been in decades. Additionally, Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine shows no sign of letting up as some Americans question continued military aid to Kyiv. 

Next year, NATO will hold its historic seventy-fifth anniversary summit in Washington, DC. As NATO’s newest member, Finland plays a critical role in transatlantic security. 

Join Hudson as we host Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on her inaugural visit to Washington. Valtonen will deliver a speech on the importance of transatlantic ties, the need to support Ukraine, and the future of the relationship between the United States and Finland.

Following her remarks, she will sit down for a conversation with Senior Fellow Luke Coffey.

Hudson Senior Fellow Mario Mancuso sits down with Ambassador John Sullivan, who served as United States ambassador to Russia immediately before, during, and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

One of America’s most distinguished public servants, Ambassador Sullivan has served under five US presidents, in leadership roles at four cabinet departments, and as deputy secretary of the Departments of State and Commerce. Amid the ongoing debate about additional US funding for Ukraine, Ambassador Sullivan gives a bird’s eye view of some of the most consequential geopolitical events in recent times, including the lead-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the regime dynamics in the Kremlin and what they mean for Vladimir Putin’s future, Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel, and Iran’s proxy war in a changing Middle East.

The conversation will continue in a second part coming soon.

Hamas terrorists’ October 7 invasion of southern Israel included the wide-scale rape of Israeli women as a weapon of war, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said was “beyond anything that I've seen.” However, it has largely been met with silence from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to numerous other global women’s rights groups. Meanwhile, Israeli officials believe about 18 women remain in Hamas custody. And United States officials have publicly said that Hamas is not releasing the remaining women because it does not want them to speak publicly about the sexual violence they have endured.

Please join Senators Joni Ernst and Marsha Blackburn and Representatives Beth Van Duyne and Julia Letlow for an event at Hudson with Senior Fellow Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, moderated by former State Department Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus. The women will address Hamas’s use of sexual violence, the silence of global women’s rights groups, and the need for unequivocal moral and intellectual clarity in condemning rape as a weapon of war.

Additional panelists will be announced as they are confirmed.

The Quad members (the United States, Japan, Australia, and India) have committed to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and Taiwan is at the heart of this goal for the US and Japan. But Taiwan’s global partnerships extend beyond defense to technology cooperation, trade, investment, and more. 

What are the Quad members’ respective interests in Taiwan? How can cooperation through the Quad expand these relationships? And how can the Quad support Taiwan as it seeks to increase its collaboration throughout the region on trade, infrastructure building, and other areas?

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Riley Walters and James J. Przystup for a conversation with Yuko Mukai of the Project 2049 Institute Dhruva Jaishankar of Observer Research Foundation, and Adam Leslie of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on these questions and more.

Representative Mike Waltz (FL-6), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), will moderate a panel on China’s influence operations in the United States with Hudson Senior Fellows John Lee and Miles Yu and Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow Craig Singleton as part of the committee’s Beyond the SCIF series. Hudson President and CEO John Walters will deliver opening remarks. 

The panelists will discuss the scope of the Chinese Communist Party’s influence campaign and examine opportunities for the US and its allies to counter Beijing’s espionage and malign influence.

How should Washington respond to Chinese influencers seeking to shape public opinion and manipulate American officials and business leaders into enacting Beijing’s policy preferences? How do the influence operations that China aims at the US differ from those it directs at our allies? Should Washington retaliate by amplifying the voices of Chinese dissidents as it did with dissidents in the Soviet Union?

Join Hudson for a discussion on these and other questions about national security and the CCP.

Several Latin American nations are experiencing an erosion of democratic governance and a rise in populism. A combination of internal and external factors has caused this democratic recession, raising important questions for the region’s future and the United States’ interests.

Join Hudson Institute and leading Latin America experts for a discussion of the causes of the current democratic recession, the role of citizens’ attitudes, and approaches to renewing the region’s democracies. The speakers will also consider implications for US policy in the region.

President Joe Biden has stated that Ukraine’s success in defending itself against Russian aggression is “vital for America’s national security.” Seventieth Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has argued that “the outcome of this war will have a direct impact on US national security.” Yet despite significant bipartisan support for Kyiv, the prospect of continued United States aid to Ukraine remains uncertain.

What is the path forward for Ukraine aid in Congress? Can a bipartisan coalition hold in the face of a determined effort to cut off US aid? What would happen if the US ended military support for Ukraine? What policy changes are needed to help Ukrainian forces prevail, and what would success look like?

Please join Hudson Institute and the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) for a discussion with Representatives Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Don Bacon (R-NE) on these critical questions. The event will be moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey and Tamar Jacoby, who directs PPI’s New Ukraine Project, with brief opening remarks from Hudson President John Walters.

External actors have accelerated their efforts to shape public opinion in Latin America in order to sow distrust in democracy and undermine the United States’ interests in the region. Russia has waged a particularly effective campaign. According to the new US Institute for Peace report Russian Influence Campaigns in Latin America, Moscow has succeeded at amplifying anti-US narratives and neutralizing opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Join Hudson Institute for a discussion with the authors of the report; Douglas Farah, the founder and president of IBI Consultants; and Román Ortiz, senior consultant with IBI Consultants. The speakers will discuss the strategy behind Russia’s disinformation efforts, the tools and tactics that have been most effective, and how the US and its allies can counter disinformation campaigns.

Alsu Kurmasheva is the most recent American journalist Russia has wrongfully arrested because of his or her profession and citizenship. On October 18, Russia accused Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist based in Prague, of failing to self-register as a “foreign agent”—even though she was in Russia to visit her ailing mother. This is the first known instance of such a charge in Russia. The US government has not yet received official notification of Kurmasheva’s detention from Moscow, has not been granted consular access to Alsu, and has not yet declared Kurmasheva’s case a wrongful detention.

Hudson Institute and RFE/RL invite you to join Pavel Butorin, Alsu Kurmasheva’s husband and the director of Current Time, RFE/RL’s Russian-language digital platform; RFE/RL Acting President Dr. Jeffrey Gedmin; and Wall Street Journal Assistant Editor Paul Beckett for a conversation about Russia’s escalating attacks on American journalists. The event will be moderated by Hudson Institute Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt, with comments from Senior Fellow Olivia Enos.

Last December, the United States Department of Defense unveiled the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, the newest American strategic bomber capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear munitions. Current planning has the US Air Force set to acquire at least 100 B-21s, with a few dozen of the bombers to be operational by the end of the decade.

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the Keystone Defense Initiative Rebeccah Heinrichs led an assessment of the crucial role the B-21 bomber will play in simultaneously deterring the two near-peer nuclear adversaries the United States now faces—the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.

The forthcoming report explores the B-21’s procurement process and lessons the DoD has learned for producing big-ticket items, the B‑21’s role in extended nuclear and conventional deterrence, the Raider’s role in facing the two-pronged threat, the number of B-21s the US should procure in an unprecedented threat environment, and more.

Contributors Mackenzie Eaglen, Jennifer Bradley, Rebecca Grant, Christopher Bowie, and Kari Bingen will join Ms. Heinrichs to give a preview of the findings of the report.

Under the direction of Xi Jinping, China has embarked on an effort to undermine American global economic and political leadership. Hudson Senior Fellow Thomas J. Duesterberg’s new study, China’s Economic Weakness and Challenge to the Bretton Woods System: How Should the US Respond?, lays out how the faltering Chinese economy provides the United States with leverage to push back on Xi’s aggressive and insidious program.

Hudson Institute will host a panel of leading China experts to discuss the findings of this study.

The revelation that Russia has recruited hundreds of Cubans to fight in Ukraine underscores the desperation of Cuban citizens and the expansion of cooperation between Cuba and Russia. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared that Russia has Cuba’s “unconditional support.”

Hudson Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle will moderate a panel examining the ramifications of the Cuba-Russia alliance and Havana’s decision to prevent more Cuban citizens from joining Russia’s war in Ukraine with Senior Fellow Can Kasapoğlu, Coordinator of the Assembly of Cuban Resistance Orlando Gutiérrez-Boronat, and Florida International University Adjunct Professor of International Relations Erich de la Fuente.

Pakistan is mired in a multidimensional crisis with political, social, economic, and security implications. General elections are scheduled for late January 2024, extending the caretaker government’s term by three months. The influential Pakistani security establishment appears more in control today than it has been in recent years.

Inflation remains at an all-time high, and Pakistan’s economic growth has slowed as the agricultural and manufacturing sectors contract. The country’s domestic weakness is reflected in its foreign relations. Terrorist attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from safe havens in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan remain a challenge for Pakistan. 

Join Ambassador Husain Haqqani, senior fellow and director of Hudson’s South and Central Asia Program, for a conversation on this and more with Amber Rahim Shamsi, Asfandiyar Mir, Aqil Shah, and Uzair Younus.

The world continues to feel the impact of President Joe Biden’s precipitous withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan. During the evacuation, 13 American service members perished in the Kabul airport bombing, and afterward Afghanistan fell into chaos once again. The US left behind billions of dollars of military equipment and other antiterrorism tools. And the withdrawal may have contributed to Russia’s calculation that its full-scale invasion of Ukraine would be worth the cost. 

More than two years later, the US government has yet to conduct a fair accounting of the decision-making and intelligence failures that led to the disastrous withdrawal. Jerry Dunleavy and James Hasson accessed key government documents and conducted eyewitness interviews to answer these questions in Kabul: The Untold Story of Biden's Fiasco and the American Warriors Who Fought to the End. 

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs as she sits down with the authors for a book talk.

As the global economy shifts toward Asia, India will play an increasingly prominent role in global affairs. India’s large population and high-tech industry, among other assets, make it a vital counterweight against China’s rise. The United States recently became India’s largest trading partner, but there is still much to be sorted out in this growing partnership. Policymakers in New Delhi and Washington will need to collaborate more closely than in the past to sustain India’s economic development and strengthen international partnerships like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad). Moreover, both countries have important elections next year, which will affect both the nature and timing of shared initiatives.

Join Hudson Institute and the India Foundation for an invitation-only event focused on the role Washington and the American business community can play in strengthening bilateral economic and strategic relationships between the US and India. American and Indian experts will discuss some of the most urgent issues facing the relationship. Then Hudson Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead will interview Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about India's role in the world and the future of the relationship.

The United States and its allies have frozen more than $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets as part of their response to the Kremlin’s illegal war against Ukraine.

Ukraine’s reconstruction costs are estimated to be around $400 billion and counting. But there is no need for Ukrainians, let alone US taxpayers, to foot the bill for Russia’s unprovoked aggression.

The bipartisan Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act would authorize the US to seize and repurpose of frozen Russian funds to provide additional assistance to Ukraine. It would also bar the US from lifting sanctions unless Russian forces withdraw from Ukrainian territory and encourage the US administration to work closely with allies to develop robust international asset seizure and transfer mechanisms.

Please join Hudson Institute for a foreign policy address by Senator Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and leading cosponsor of the REPO for Ukrainians Act. Following the address, Hudson Kleptocracy Initiative Research Fellow Nate Sibley and a panel of experts will discuss the act and its implications for the future of Ukraine.

Canada and the United States are quietly diverging on many important geopolitical issues. Yet any reasoned survey of the two neighbors’ interests would quickly conclude that Washington and Ottawa should be closely aligned on matters including national security, the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, opposition to authoritarian regimes, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, and more. To put the US-Canada relationship back on sound footing, the nations should start by telling each other the truth and seeing the relationship as it really is. 

The Macdonald-Laurier Institute (MLI), Canada’s leading think tank, is launching a new project in Washington to take on this truth-telling task. This project—the Center for North American Prosperity and Security (CNAPS, pronounced “synapse”)—will go beyond clichés to drive an honest dialogue on the issues that matter most for the security and prosperity of citizens on both sides of the border.

Hudson Institute, in partnership with MLI, is proud to host the launch of CNAPS. The event will highlight two urgent matters facing policymakers on both sides of the border: the lessons from Canada’s extensive experience with institutional capture by the Chinese Communist Party, and the potential for a continental energy policy that would keep prices low, ensure energy security for the liberal-democratic world, and reduce the flow of money to some of the world’s nastiest regimes.

Governor Chris Christie, presidential candidate and former governor of New Jersey, will give a foreign policy address at Hudson Institute. Following his remarks, he will sit down for a fireside chat with Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran. Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters will deliver opening remarks.

About the Presidential Speech Series:

The 2024 presidential election will coincide with a time of fundamental global transition. From the ongoing war in Europe to the Chinese Communist Party’s increasingly aggressive challenge to the US, the next president will need to demonstrate strong leadership, strategic thought, and the ability to craft clear policy and shape the national consensus. 

For more than 60 years, Hudson Institute has challenged conventional thinking and helped manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in defense, international relations, economics, energy, and technology. Hudson is guided by the understanding that American leadership is vital to security, freedom, and prosperity.

In that spirit, Hudson has invited leading presidential candidates to share their views on America’s role in the world and the principles that would guide their foreign and defense policies in the inaugural Presidential Speech Series.

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in eight years. Despite the odds, Ukrainians gallantly defended Kyiv in the war’s early days and conducted a successful counteroffensive around Kharkiv and Kherson last year. However, as Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second winter, the stakes are high.

Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia will host Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak to discuss the state of the 2023 counteroffensive, the future of United States–Ukraine relations, and the status of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula.

The war in Gaza is much more than a conflict between Israelis and Palestinians; it is part of a broader Iranian plan to undermine the American-led order in the Middle East. As 3,000 Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists stormed over the border from Gaza and murdered 1,400 Israelis, Lebanese Hezbollah—another Iranian proxy—increased its pressure on Israel’s northern border. As Israel began its ground incursion, the Iranian-sponsored Houthis fired drones and missiles toward Israeli cities. Meanwhile, Iranian cutouts in Iraq and Syria have attacked American bases no fewer than 24 times since October 17.

Join Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East for a discussion between Distinguished Fellow Michael R. Pompeo, the seventieth US secretary of state, and Senior Fellow Michael Doran on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war’s place in the Iranian strategy to undermine the United States.

Whether Russian President Vladimir Putin dies in office, is ousted in a palace coup, or relinquishes power for some unforeseen reason, the United States and its allies would face a radically different Russia with the Kremlin under new management. The geopolitical stakes mean that policymakers would be negligent not to plan for the consequences of a post-Putin Russia. 

Join Hudson Institute’s Center on Europe and Eurasia for a discussion on how US and allied policymakers can prepare for a Russia after Putin.

Patrick M. Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at Hudson Institute, will moderate a discussion with Ambassador Shin-wha Lee, South Korean ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights. 

As North Korea’s nuclear buildup, political repression, and strengthening ties with Russia and China undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia, Ambassador Lee will explore these issues and identify the most important avenues for bilateral cooperation in the United States–South Korea relationship as well as opportunities for multilateral cooperation throughout the region.

Over the past 22 years, the United States Department of Defense has optimized the American Special Operations Forces (SOF) for the Global War on Terror. While terrorist threats remain—especially from Iranian proxies—the DoD is now calling upon SOF to return to its irregular warfare roots to counter nation-states. Civilian control and leadership of special operations is key to expediting this transformation, and Congress has elevated the role of assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict (ASD SO/LIC) to include acting as the service secretary for special operations.

Hudson Adjunct Fellow Ezra Cohen, who served as ASD SO/LIC, will be joined by two other previous ASD SO/LICs, Mark Mitchell and former Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, to discuss civil-military relations within the special operations community, the transition from counterterrorism to irregular warfare, and how to optimize intelligence forces and SOF for the next generation of challenges.

Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel caused the Jewish State to reevaluate the strength of its capabilities and its capacity to maintain border control. Israel has mobilized over 300,000 reservists to fight on the ground against Hamas. Although the Israel Defense Forces’ yearly budget of around $23.6 billion is more than the combined military spending of Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, and Jordan, Israel’s operation against Hamas may strain its finances. Since the beginning of the conflict, Israel has spent almost $246 million per day, according to Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. 

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran for a discussion on Israel’s budget during the Israel-Hamas war with Noach Hacker, the minister of economic affairs representing Israel’s Ministry of Finance.

With the eruption of war in the Middle East and Europe and tensions flaring in the Taiwan Strait, the American-led international system seems to be at an inflection point. The number of geopolitical flashpoints from the Sahel to the South China Sea is increasing at an alarming rate, and many are beginning to doubt the United States’ ability to deter hostile, revisionist powers across the globe.

Join Hudson Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead for a discussion with critically acclaimed historian Andrew Roberts and General David Petraeus on their new book Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine, which provides a penetrating analysis of the last 70 years of military history, highlighting many of the critical lessons that we should draw from past wars. This insightful text helps explain how the US military can anticipate the rapidly evolving threat environment in an increasingly dangerous world to best prepare for the wars of the future.

With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the United States in June and President Joe Biden’s September visit to India, 2023 has been a landmark year for the India-US strategic partnership. But the world’s oldest democracy and the world’s most populous democracy have not always been such close friends. Through most of the Cold War, relations between the two countries were beset with challenges. Only within the last two decades have New Delhi and Washington become natural allies.

Economic Times columnist Seema Sirohi’s new book Friends with Benefits: The India-US Story explores the slow development of the US-India relationship. Join Hudson Institute for a book talk with Sirohi and Ashley Tellis, the Tata Chair for strategic affairs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, moderated by Hudson Research Fellow Aparna Pande.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Jonathan Schachter for a discussion with Israel-based journalist Yonah Jeremy Bob on his new book, coauthored with Ilan Evyatar, Target Tehran. 

About the Book

Target Tehran describes how Israel was able to promote the normalization with Arab states like Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates by using its military might to thwart Iran’s nuclear weapons program. 

The writers recount the shadow between Iran and Israel—which sometimes operated in conjunction with the United States—by drawing on interviews with confidential Israeli and US sources, including from the Mossad and the Central Intelligence Agency.

About the Author

Yonah Jeremy Bob is the senior military and intelligence analyst as well as the book review editor for the Jerusalem Post. Hailing originally from Baltimore, Maryland, Yonah has close connections with many Israeli intelligence figures and previously worked in the Israeli military international law division, at the Israeli Embassy to the United Nations, and in the Israeli Justice Ministry. He is the author of Justice in the West Bank? And the editor and translator of A Raid on the Red Sea, an intelligence thriller whose principal author is Amos Gilboa, a former Israel Defense Forces deputy chief of intelligence.

The fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act established the bipartisan Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States to review US nuclear weapons policy, strategy, and force structure and to conduct an assessment of America’s near-peer competitors. Earlier this month, the commission released its final report on America’s strategic posture, the first such report since 2009. 

Join commission members and Hudson Senior Fellows Rebeccah L. Heinrichs and Marshall S. Billingslea as they host commission Chair Madeline R. Creedon and commission members Rose E. Gottemoeller and Robert M. Scher for a discussion on the report’s findings and its implications for the future of America’s strategic posture.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is undergoing a profound change. At the Madrid summit in July 2022, the alliance ratified a new strategic concept that returned NATO to its roots: deterring Russian aggression. At that same meeting, NATO began the process of welcoming Sweden and Finland into the alliance, leading to Finland’s full accession in April 2023. 

At the Vilnius summit this past summer, NATO continued to adapt in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. The alliance updated its military plans and established the NATO-Ukraine Council. It also eased Ukraine’s path to accession by announcing that it could join the alliance without completing a membership action plan (MAP).

One hundred days after Vilnius, as the alliance begins its preparations for its seventy-fifth summit next year in Washington, join Hudson’s Peter Rough and Luke Coffey as they welcome two Lithuanian national security experts for a retrospective analysis of the Vilnius summit: Žygimantas Pavilionis, a member of the Seimas (Lithuania’s parliament), where he serves on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and Tomas Janeliūnas, the chief research officer at the Eastern Europe Studies Centre and a professor at Vilnius University. 

Increasingly contested international waters threaten the security and prosperity of the United States and its Indo-Pacific allies and partners. The Coast Guard deploys a fleet that is equivalent to the world’s 15 largest navies combined, with some 38,000 active-duty forces and more than 240 cutters. Responsible for law enforcement, marine safety, and environmental protection, the Coast Guard patrols America’s 3.4 million miles of exclusive economic zone. But the Coast Guard is also working to strengthen its presence in the Indo-Pacific, training and conducting exercises with allies and partners throughout the region.

Hudson Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick M. Cronin will sit down with Admiral Linda L. Fagan, commandant of the United States Coast Guard, to discuss the Coast Guard’s growing role in combatting China’s peacetime confrontation operations and protecting the marine environment and vital fisheries. Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters will deliver opening remarks.

Entrepreneur and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will discuss his vision for the defense of the American homeland, including how that vision applies in the Middle East in an address at Hudson Institute. Following his remarks, he will sit down for a fireside chat with Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran.

About the Presidential Speech Series:

The 2024 presidential election will coincide with a time of fundamental global transition. From the ongoing war in Europe to the Chinese Communist Party’s increasingly aggressive challenge to the US, the next president will need to demonstrate strong leadership, strategic thought, and the ability to craft clear policy and shape the national consensus. 

For more than 60 years, Hudson Institute has challenged conventional thinking and helped manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in defense, international relations, economics, energy, and technology. Hudson is guided by the understanding that American leadership is vital to security, freedom, and prosperity.

In that spirit, Hudson has invited leading presidential candidates to share their views on America’s role in the world and the principles that would guide their foreign and defense policies in the inaugural Presidential Speech Series.

The Western-led international system faces a major test. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine 20 months ago harkens back to the major wars on European soil last century, while Hamas’s gruesome attack on Israel is a stark reminder of the threat of state-supported terrorism. From the Balkans to the Caucasus and from the Philippines to Taiwan, the number of real and potential global flashpoints is multiplying at an alarming speed.

In this new geopolitical landscape, maintaining a favorable balance of power across Eurasia requires a strong and determined transatlantic alliance. From emerging technologies, to supply chains, to international trade, the United States and the European Union need to find means of cooperation and a constructive path forward to ensure peace and prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.

The US-EU summit at the White House is meant to do just that. On the sidelines of that meeting, Hudson Institute is delighted to welcome the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to discuss the conflict in Gaza and the challenge Iran poses, assess the state of the war in Ukraine, and explain Brussels’s view on China’s rise. Following her remarks, she will sit down with Peter Rough, director of Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia, for a fireside chat.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the world’s first oil shock, when the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) declared an embargo on oil shipments to Western countries. Oil prices quadrupled in the next few months, but the embargo’s consequences for energy, domestic politics, and international relations were bigger and longer lasting than the price spike at the pump.

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Brigham McCown and Arthur Herman as they explore the past and present of the 1973 oil embargo with distinguished industry leaders in a two-part panel discussion. The panels will accompany a keynote address from Mike Sommers, president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute.

Read Herman’s recent report on the lessons of the crisis, From Fueling Victory to Running on Empty, here.

The international system is less stable than at any time in recent decades. In the Middle East, Israel is taking the offensive in response to Hamas’s unconscionable terrorist attacks on the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret. In Europe, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine shows no signs of abating after 20 months of grinding conflict. And from the Balkans to the Caucasus, long-festering tensions risk exploding into all-out war. In these trying times, the transatlantic alliance is crucial for maintaining a favorable balance of power in Eurasia and ensuring that the United States–led international system endures. 

Hudson is delighted to host one of the West’s foremost strategists, National Security Advisor of the Czech Republic and former Czech Ambassador to Israel Tomáš Pojar for a fireside chat on the most pressing issues of the day. He’ll be joined in conversation by Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia, to discuss Czech-US relations, the future of the transatlantic alliance, Israel’s war against Hamas’s terror, the war in Ukraine, and the politics of Central and Eastern Europe.

The United States began working to prevent the Chinese Communist Party’s illicit surveillance of Americans through Chinese-made telecom equipment long before the infamous spy balloon traversed the continental US. Yet in the past two decades, thousands of state and local governments in the US have purchased potentially compromised devices. This threat extends beyond America’s borders as countries across the globe—including those that host US military bases—have turned to Chinese companies like Huawei for telecom equipment, services, and infrastructure.

Miles Yu, senior fellow and director of the China Center, will host Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington and a panel of distinguished experts for a virtual discussion of how CCP-controlled telecommunications companies pose a uniquely pervasive threat to American national security.

Governor Doug Burgum will deliver a foreign policy address at Hudson Institute. Following his remarks, the governor will sit down for a “fireside chat” with Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters.

Senator Tim Scott will deliver a speech at the Hudson Institute about standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel, wiping Hamas off the map, and confronting those who are enabling terrorism.

Following the remarks, Senator Scott will sit down for a conversation with Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran.

Mobile wireless services have been central to America and its allies’ economic growth and national security over the past three decades. Billions of people, including many of the world’s poorest, use wireless services daily. New services such as 5G depend on spectrum availability, and countries like China are making far more of the spectrum available for new technologies than the United States. America’s economic growth, social welfare, and national security depend on its ability to find more spectrum for new technologies.

Hudson’s Center for the Economics of the Internet welcomes James Andrew Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to discuss his research in this area. A light lunch will be served.

Under the cover of heavy rocket fire, hundreds of terrorists belonging to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad invaded Israel from Gaza in the early hours of Saturday, October 7. They breached two security fences and stormed in by foot, jeep, motorcycle, and paraglider; yet they encountered virtually no resistance from the Israeli military. The terrorists murdered hundreds of civilians and left close to 2,000 wounded. They took an undisclosed number of soldiers and civilians captive, including women and children, who are being held in the Gaza Strip. The magnitude of the attack makes an Israeli ground incursion into Gaza a virtual certainty.

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Michael Doran, Jonathan Schachter, and Can Kasapoğlu for an analysis of these events.

The United States military faces multiple intensifying challenges. China, a peer adversary, has eroded the US military’s post–Cold War dominance and threatens the sovereignty and economic prosperity of the US and its allies and partners around the globe. Facing flat budgets, the Pentagon is pursuing resilience, flexibility, interoperability, and affordable scale to gain an edge. Far from the exquisite precision strikes of Operation Desert Storm, US forces will need to assemble kill chains in the field from a changing variety of commercial and military systems to undermine enemy decision-making and sustain a potential protracted fight.

In order to implement the interoperability and command and control that the US military needs for a more adaptable and resilient force, leaders from the Department of Defense and its industry partners will have to cooperate. Join Hudson Senior Fellow Bryan Clark and Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and CEO Jim Taiclet for a conversation about how the Pentagon and its suppliers can work together to overcome these challenges and ensure US forces can continue to dissuade aggression.

On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a rapid military operation to take full control of Karabakh, a region that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but which is home to tens of thousands of Armenians. What led to Azerbaijan’s latest move? What are the move’s implications? Will it bring Armenia and Azerbaijan closer to a lasting peace?

To answer these questions, Hudson Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Luke Coffey host a discussion with Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov, representative of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments.

Pentagon leaders largely view the Indo-Pacific through an air and maritime lens. But in the region, armies are the dominant military branch in national security priorities and doctrine. This gives the United States Army an opportunity to build relationships with its counterparts across the Indo-Pacific and establish security infrastructure for use in future conflicts. The resilience these “interior lines” provide could be decisive in deterring aggression.

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion with General Charles A. Flynn, commanding general of the US Army, Pacific, about the Army’s changing role in the region and how long-term campaigning can help the US compete with and deter China.

Xi Jinping’s revanchist nationalism has led European officials to rethink their China policies, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ended any chance of a Russia-Japan entente. Europe, Japan, and Australia increasingly work together to support Ukraine, conduct combined military exercises and development, and enact policies to de-risk their industrial bases from Chinese economic coercion.

Hudson’s Japan Chair will host Eva Maydell, a member of the European Parliament and vice chair of the Delegation on Japan Relations, to speak on recent developments between Europe and the Indo-Pacific as well as the future of the relationship. Following her remarks, Hudson Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein will moderate a question and answer session.

Due to the Biden administration’s failed policies, the Taliban controls control more of Afghanistan today than it did on September 11, 2001. Meanwhile, transnational terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) have increased their scale and activity in the country.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, one credible and non-extremist group has been willing to take up arms in opposition: the National Resistance Front (NRF) of Afghanistan. Based in the Panjshir province and operating in a dozen other provinces, the NRF has continued to fight the Taliban against all odds and without any international support. Hudson Institute will hold an event to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and America’s best options to support the NRF.

Quantum computing, with its ability to quickly solve highly complex problems, promises to be a technological leap over current technology. This advantage could be applied in sectors that demand high degrees of optimization, such as financial trading, pharmaceutical design, and information encryption. Thus, quantum computing has serious industrial and security implications.

Hudson Institute’s Japan Chair will host Professor Kohei Itoh—one of the pioneers of Japanese quantum computing and the president of Keio University—to discuss the rise of quantum computing, its importance to the US-Japanese relationship, and how it opens future pathways for cooperation between the two countries. Professor Itoh’s remarks will be followed by a question and answer session moderated by Dr. Kenneth R. Weinstein, Japan Chair at Hudson Institute.

The Chinese government has developed a set of remarkably innovative economic tools to shape the behavior of individuals, companies, and governments and bring them in line with Beijing’s core interests. To counter China’s authoritarian power projection, democratic governments need to band together to establish guardrails on international economic behavior.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Nury Turkel and Axios China Reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian as they discuss her new book Beijing Rules: How China Weaponized Its Economy to Confront the World.

In the first installment of Hudson Institute’s Presidential Speech Series, Vice President Mike Pence will deliver a foreign policy address.

About the Presidential Speech Series:

The 2024 presidential election will coincide with a time of fundamental global transition. From the ongoing war in Europe to the Chinese Communist Party’s increasingly aggressive challenge to the US, the next president will need to demonstrate strong leadership, strategic thought, and the ability to craft clear policy and shape the national consensus. 

For more than 60 years, Hudson Institute has challenged conventional thinking and helped manage strategic transitions to the future through interdisciplinary studies in defense, international relations, economics, energy, and technology. Hudson is guided by the understanding that American leadership is vital to security, freedom, and prosperity.

In that spirit, Hudson has invited leading presidential candidates to share their views on America’s role in the world and the principles that would guide their foreign and defense policies in the inaugural Presidential Speech Series.

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, chief of the Defence Staff of the United Kingdom, is a strong defender of the US-UK relationship, a champion of Western backing for Ukraine, and a vocal advocate for reinforced deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. As the professional head of the UK’s armed forces and the principal military adviser to the prime minister and secretary of state for defence, Admiral Sir Tony works closely with his American counterparts in the Joint Chiefs of Staff to manage the defense element of the special relationship.

Join Rebeccah Heinrichs, director of Hudson’s Keystone Defense Initiative, for a conversation with Admiral Sir Tony on the connections between Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security, including developments with the AUKUS agreement in the UK’s 2023 Integrated Review Refresh and Defence Command Paper.

Join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a conversation with Ambassador Robert C. O’Brien, the co-founder and chairman of American Global Strategies LLC and the twenty-seventh United States national security advisor. China Center Director Miles Yu will moderate a discussion with Ambassador O’ Brien. The discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and a brief reception.

Pentagon assessments and think tank studies continue to highlight the erosion of the United States military’s dominance over a growing and improving Chinese force. Decrying the loss of American primacy, government officials and analysts now call for dramatic increases in defense spending and greater investment in the industrial base to sustain US overmatch. But attempting to field a larger and more capable force than the People’s Liberation Army in Beijing’s backyard is likely the wrong way to deter aggression against US allies such as Taiwan or Japan. The US military—and the US government more broadly—needs a new approach. A new Hudson Institute study, Campaigning to Dissuade, proposes one such approach, which would use available and emerging technologies to attack China’s operational strategy, prepare for a protracted conflict, and campaign to undermine Chinese military planning and confidence.

Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark, Dan Patt, and Ezra Cohen will discuss the challenges facing US policymakers and new strategies for deterring Chinese aggression with Rear Admiral Mike Studeman (USN), former director of intelligence of the US Indo-Pacific Command and former commander of the Office of Naval Intelligence. 

Since returning to power in January, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has sought to elevate Brazil's role in global affairs, strengthen the foundations of Brazil's economy, and undo the legacy of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Join Hudson Institute for an assessment of President Lula's first seven months in office and what his leadership means for the future of Brazil and US-Brazil relations. Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle will be joined by Marcio Coimbra, head of the Fundação da Liberdade Econômica (Foundation for Economic Liberty), and Matthew Taylor, professor at American University's School of International Service.

The precision warfare revolution, introduced by the United States military in the First Gulf War, provided it with a major competitive advantage for several decades. Today, however, China is rapidly closing the gap—if it has not yet erased it entirely. Simultaneously, the US confronts the prospect of another disruptive shift in war’s character, or “military revolution,” enabled by advances across a wide range of technologies.

Please join Hudson Senior Fellows Timothy A. Walton and Andrew Krepinevich for a discussion of Dr. Krepinevich’s latest book, The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers. The book argues that the US military needs to pursue “disruptive innovation” in a race with other militaries to exploit war’s changing character. Krepinevich cites four historic militaries—each of which pursued disruptive innovation to adapt to and exploit new ways of war—for clues as to the winner’s identity. 

At the end of the Cold War, many in the West believed that the liberal international order’s triumph had rendered war and revisionism obsolete. However, both Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and China’s escalation of its rivalry with the United States have poured cold water on this belief. European politicians, who for years had declined even to discuss great-power competition, have been jolted into action.

Please join Peter Rough, director of Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia, for a book talk with Dr. Gerlinde Groitl. In her latest book, Russia, China and the Revisionist Assault on the Western Liberal International Order, Groitl assesses the revisionist powers’ assault on the American-led order and proposes a new strategy to contain Russian and Chinese revisionism and preserve prosperity. 

Space-based critical infrastructure is emerging as a vital area for national security. Join Hudson Senior Fellows Arthur Herman and Peter Huessy for a discussion on dual-use technologies, America’s industrial base, and the emerging role of commercial industry in space security. The panel will include Even Rogers, CEO of True Anomaly; Col. (ret.) Dean Bellamy, Executive Vice President, National Security Space, Redwire; Chris Shank, Vice President of Defense and Space Programs, Maxar; and Jason Kim, a senior policy analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

To defend Ukraine against Russia and deter China from invading Taiwan, the United States needs to rapidly increase weapons production and enhance its arms. Tapping American innovation and rebuilding the US defense industrial base will be crucial. The mobilization effort during World War II offers a range of lessons for policymakers today on how to stimulate innovation, collaboration, and growth to rebuild the “arsenal of democracy.”

Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center Miles Yu will introduce this session. Distinguished Fellow Lewis Libby will moderate a panel with three leading historians on this topic: Professor Larrie D. Ferreiro, Professor Mark Wilson, and Hudson Senior Fellow Arthur Herman.

About the Speakers

Lewis Libby is a distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute. He served as chief of staff and national security advisor for Vice President Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005 and principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy from 1989 to 1993. 

Larrie D. Ferreiro is a naval architect, historian, and author of Churchill’s American Arsenal: The Partnership Behind the Innovations That Won World War II. His book Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History. He teaches history and engineering at George Mason University in Virginia and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.

Mark Wilson is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and author of Destructive Creation: American Business and Winning of World II, winner of the Hagley Prize for best book in business history, and co-winner of the Ralph Gomory Prize, which honors historical work on the effects of business enterprises on the economic conditions of the countries in which they operate. He teaches courses on the history of democracy, capitalism, the US military, and the military-industrial complex.

Arthur Herman is a senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute. His research programs analyze defense, energy, and technology issues. Dr. Herman is the author of nine books, including Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, How the Scots Invented the Modern World, and Pulitzer Prize finalist Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age.

Aerial refueling, one of the United States military’s most important advantages, enables the US to dynamically project power across the globe. However, the advanced age of America’s tanker inventory and the growing strength of the People’s Republic of China place this advantage at risk. As the Air Force celebrates a century of aerial refueling, it is time to look to the future.

Building on the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology’s report Resilient Aerial Refueling: Safeguarding the US Military’s Global Reach, Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton will host a panel discussion on the history of aerial refueling, the role of Air Force and congressional leadership, and future opportunities to maintain America’s advantage.

Joining Walton will be Jeremiah Gertler, director of the Defense Concepts Organization, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Aerospace Security Project, and a senior analyst for the Teal Group; Jon Ludwigson, director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office; and Lieutenant General Thomas Sharpy (USAF, Ret.), owner of the Sharpy Group.

As more commercial electronics utilize mobile computing and 5G technology begins to provide broadband internet everywhere, access to the electromagnetic spectrum can mean the difference between victory and defeat—on the battlefield or in business. The US military is using a new strategy for electromagnetic superiority, focused on maneuver and spectrum sharing, to create advantages and increase commercial access to a more congested and contested spectrum. But implementation of this strategy has been slow and uneven. The Pentagon has mainly invested in defensive systems for large, manned platforms, with spectrum agility and offensive capabilities a distant second. 

Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton and Association of Old Crows President Brian Hinkley for a discussion on the US military’s efforts to achieve spectrum superiority with Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), the co-chairs of the Congressional Electromagnetic Warfare Working Group.

The Chinese Communist Party uses a variety of covert tactics to repress freedom of speech and religion on American soil. It targets Falun Gong, Uyghur Muslims, Chinese Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and public critics of CCP policies—including American citizens. This is part of a criminal CCP program known as transnational repression, which has existed in the US for at least 20 years. The CCP's tactics include sanctions, physical assaults, cyberattacks, campus bullying and threats, disinformation campaigns, coerced repatriations, surveillance, and intimidation. 

Join Hudson Center for Religious Freedom Director Nina Shea for a discussion on China’s transnational repression. She will be joined by Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center; Olivia Enos, Washington director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; Ian Oxnevad, senior fellow for foreign affairs and security studies at the National Association of Scholars; and Ying Chen, conductor with Shen Yun Performing Arts.

Superiority in cyberspace and on the electromagnetic spectrum is central to modern combat. Control over these domains enables a military to isolate and blind its enemies and gain a potentially decisive advantage. The United States military has long been the most capable force in these operations. But u China is an improving and capable adversary, and Russia, Iran, and North Korea employ state-sponsored cyberattacks as a tool for gray-zone aggression. Retaining the US edge in information warfare demands sustained investment and creativity.

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion on the US Air Force’s plans to improve its cyberspace and spectrum superiority with Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs Lt. Gen. Richard

Please join Hudson Institute's China Center for a presentation by Kyle Bass on Xi Jinping’s preparation for war. Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center Miles Yu will introduce the event, and the Hon. Ambassador Paula Dobriansky will moderate the question and answer segment. A reception will follow.

About the Speaker:

J. Kyle Bass is a member of the China Center Advisory Board and the founder and chief investment officer of Hayman Capital Management, an investment manager of private funds focused on global event-driven opportunities. He is also the co-founder and chief executive officer of Conservation Equity Management, an environmental sustainability private equity firm founded in 2021. 

On the third anniversary of Hong Kong’s 2020 national security law, join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a conversation between Miles Yu and Benedict Rogers about the state of Hong Kong politics and the enduring ramifications of the Chinese Communist Party’s crackdown on human rights and freedom.

Join Hudson senior fellow Brigham McCown for a discussion with former Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt about how the United States can maintain economic prosperity and energy security while preserving public lands for future generations.

Thanks to the survival of the Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran has established a permanent position in Syria. From this position, Tehran spreads its influence in the eastern Mediterranean and assists other malevolent actors, such as Lebanese Hezbollah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. 

In a new essay, Israeli Middle East analyst Ehud Yaari cites these factors, among others, as proof that Israel is “the biggest loser” of the Syrian Civil War. Yaari’s view diverges from the near consensus among members of the Israeli defense establishment, who routinely refer to Syria as a great success of what the Israelis call “the campaign between the wars.” Targeted strikes and innovative intelligence work, the establishment argues, have prevented the Islamic Republic from turning Syria into a second Lebanon, which Iran could use as a major base for military operations against Israel. 

Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran will host Yaari and Zohar Palti, the former head of the Policy and Political-Military Bureau in Israel’s Ministry of Defense, to discuss Yaari’s views on Syria and Israel’s strategic situation more broadly.

Yevgeny Prigozhin took a shocking step on Friday, redirecting units of his Wagner Private Military Company from Ukraine into Russia. Footage of Wagner forces charging toward Moscow seized the world, and Vladimir Putin dug in to defend his capital. The day ended in an unspecified deal, apparently brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, but little is known about its terms. What is clear is that this is a momentous event for the Russian government, the war in Ukraine, and Putin’s rule. Please join Hudson’s Peter Rough as he sits down with Senior Fellows Rebeccah Heinrichs, Can Kasapoğlu, and Luke Coffey to sort through what it all means and what policymakers should focus on next.

Freedom, prosperity, and security are increasingly interconnected with technology. Nathaniel C. Fick’s role as the inaugural United States ambassador at large for cyberspace and digital policy is a testament to our current age of rapidly developing technology—and how the State Department views various implications for foreign policy.

What does US international leadership in tech diplomacy mean? How does the State Department plan to increase its capacity and influence the international arena in cyber, digital freedom, telecommunications, and emerging technology policy? What are the priorities, opportunities, and hazards in expanding America’s role in tech diplomacy? What is required for success?

Ambassador Fick graduated from Dartmouth College and earned his MPA and MBA from Harvard. He completed combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq before becoming a think tank leader and tech entrepreneur.

Please join Hudson Institute Asia-Pacific Security Chair Dr. Patrick Cronin for a conversation with Ambassador Fick on the intersection of strategy, technology, and diplomacy.   

The preponderance of circumstantial evidence supports the hypothesis that an unintentional research-related incident initiated the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party refuses to release any of the data required to verify the alternate, zoonotic hypothesis. In April, the Republicans on the Senate HELP (Health, Environment, and Pensions) Committee released Muddy Waters, a report on the origins of COVID-19. The report, principally authored by Dr. Robert Kadlec and Dr. Robert Foster, examines the nexus of COVID-19 in unprecedented detail and looks systematically at China’s responsibility for the COVID-19 coverup.

Please join Hudson Senior Fellow David Asher for a conversation with Dr. Kadlec on the report’s findings.

A cover story in The Economist billed it as the "Most Important Election of 2023.” On May 28, Turkish voters headed back to the polls to decide a contest that pitted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan against opposition candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The election was a referendum on, among other things, Erdoğan’s economic policies, response to the earthquake, and balancing of Moscow and Washington. And Erdoğan won, hands down. Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran as he moderates a discussion with a panel of experts on Turkish politics to unpack what this decisive victory means for US-Turkey relations, the war in Ukraine, and the balance of power in the Middle East.

For decades, global technological standards have enabled the development of a thriving, innovative, and competitive ecosystem that has benefited markets and consumers worldwide. As the geopolitical race for leadership in critical technologies expands, nearly every major country is evaluating policy measures to expand its role in the development of global standards. 

What are the key challenges the United States and other countries face? Should the international community maintain a global standardization system? What is needed to encourage robust continued participation in global standardization efforts?

On June 6, please join Coordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council Kurt Campbell and Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead for a discussion on United States foreign policy and America’s role in the world. Dr. Campbell will offer his perspective on American strategy in the Indo-Pacific region.

Dr. Campbell has served in several government positions, including as assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Asia and the Pacific, director on the NSC staff, and deputy special counselor to the president for NAFTA. He also served on surface ships as a US Navy Reserve officer, and in the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Advisory Unit.

Dialogues on American Foreign Policy and World Affairs is a Hudson discussion series moderated by Walter Russell Mead, one of America’s leading analysts of international affairs and the “Global View” columnist for the Wall Street Journal. The series features influential policymakers and opinion leaders in candid conversation on timely questions of international affairs and national security.

Please join Hudson’s China Center for a panel discussion with the architects of the AUKUS agreement—former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, and Seventieth US Secretary of State and Distinguished Fellow Michael R. Pompeo—on what this monumental diplomatic and security achievement.

In an increasingly complex world, energy remains the one constant. We need it to drive our cars, turn on the lights, power our militaries, and everything in between. The rest of the twenty-first century will bring unprecedented challenges and changes to the way we power our lives. What does the future hold, and how can the United States rise to the occasion?

Please join Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Initiative on American Energy Security Brigham McCown for a conversation with industry experts on the best ways to tackle current and emerging energy policy issues.

The Daniel Ortega regime arrested Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa, a former foreign minister and ambassador to the United States from Nicaragua, as part of a crackdown on domestic opponents in 2021. The government sentenced him for alleged crimes against national sovereignty and held him in El Chipote prison until February 2023, when he and 221 other political prisoners were released and deported to the United States.  

Please join Hudson Institute Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle for a conversation with Aguirre-Sacasa on his experience as a political prisoner and the repressive nature of the Ortega regime. 

Force structure—which includes the allocation of personnel, equipment, and weapons—is one of the most important and overlooked components of military readiness. With rising threats abroad, the US military needs to maintain a force structure that allows it to project combat power whenever and wherever it is required. 

Please join Jon Askonas, a military scholar and assistant professor of politics at the Catholic University of America, and Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a conversation about the state of our military’s force structure and what it means for our national security.

A recently released Senate report found that drug shortages increased by nearly 30 percent from 2021 to 2022. One prevailing cause for this issue is that 80 to 90 percent of critical medical supplies are manufactured overseas—particularly in China. How does this vulnerability affect our national security? 

Please join former US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a discussion on the future of American health security.

Russia’s armed forces and proxy troops have committed an array of mass atrocities in Ukraine, including widespread and systematic attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, arbitrary detentions, torture and ill treatment, rape and other sexual violence, and the forcible displacement of thousands of children. The evidence suggests that Russia is using war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide to extinguish Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and national identity. 

To hold Russia—as well as individual perpetrators—accountable, Ukraine and its partners will need to coordinate between Ukrainian courts, the International Criminal Court, a United Nations special tribunal for Russian aggression, the EU-US Joint Investigation Team, third states conducting investigations under the principle of universal jurisdiction, and more.

In this event, Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey will discuss Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine and the various avenues for prosecuting the crimes and seeking justice with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. 

After Vladimir Putin assembled upward of 100,000 troops along the Ukraine border over one year ago, his full-scale invasion of Ukraine has proven anything but successful. Russia’s initial attack on Kyiv failed, and its subsequent setbacks in Kharkiv and Kherson only further highlighted the poor performance of Moscow’s armed forces. By contrast, the people of Ukraine have fought heroically and tenaciously to repel the Russian attacks and defend their homeland against further encroachment. Ukraine now faces a critical moment as it gears up for yet another counteroffensive to liberate its territory following Russia’s most recent offensive in the Donbas. 

Few members of Congress are better positioned to assess the war than Jason Crow of Colorado. A former Army Ranger and Bronze Star recipient, Congressman Crow serves the people of Colorado’s sixth congressional district on the Armed Services Committees and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Please welcome Congressman Crow back to Hudson Institute for a conversation with Peter Rough, director of the Hudson Center on Europe and Eurasia, on the state of the war, US strategy, and the importance of continued congressional support. 

Fighting that broke out on April 15 in Sudan continues throughout the country despite several declared ceasefires. The conflict among Sudanese security forces has already killed hundreds, decimated critical infrastructure such as hospitals, and severely damaged the energy grid.

An unknown number of foreigners, including Americans, are trapped in Sudan. Roving bands of fighters are looting property and committing indiscriminate violence against civilians, and even Americans who have managed to find shelter are likely running low on food and water. Several countries have abandoned attempts to rescue their citizens, and the US government has said it has no plans to coordinate an evacuation.

Please join Hudson Fellows James Barnett, Robert Greenway, and Joshua Meservey as they discuss the urgent need for a US-led effort to evacuate Americans and outline the principles and hazards that evacuation planners should keep in mind.

Join Hudson Institute Director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Michael Doran and Director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia Peter Rough for a discussion with the Twentieth United States National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley on his new book, Hand-Off: The Foreign Policy George W. Bush Passed to Barack Obama.

About the Book

Hand-Off offers a firsthand look at the foreign policy the Bush administration turned over to President Obama. The book includes thirty newly declassified transition memoranda made public for the first time, offering an exclusive glimpse into Bush's foreign policy legacy. 

In a postscript to each memorandum, national security experts from the Bush administration take a look back at their foreign policy record after more than a dozen years out of office.

As the State of Israel celebrates 75 years of independence, the country is going through its most acrimonious political and social discord in recent memory. Friends and allies of the Jewish state are trying hard to understand and influence the outcome, while Israel’s enemies are testing its defenses and will. In this event, panelists will share their insights about what to expect in and around Israel over the next 75 days and with an eye toward the next 75 years.

China is offering Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure and security pacts to extend its strategic influence deep into the Pacific. Although Beijing has suffered diplomatic setbacks, including accusations of bribery and bullying, America should not take its position as a strong Pacific power for granted. 

Join Hudson Institute in person or online on Friday, April 28, at 11:00 a.m. for a conversation with Ambassador Joseph Yun. He is the special presidential envoy for compact negotiations and leads the renegotiation of agreements with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau—collectively known as the Freely Associated States. Amb. Yun will talk with Hudson Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin about the Pacific states’ concerns and the ongoing negotiations, as well as whether Congress will muster bipartisan support to ensure the renewal of these long-term compacts of free association.

The US military faces one of its most serious readiness challenges in recent history. The Army did not meet its recruitment goals, falling nearly 15,000 soldiers short at the end of the last fiscal year. At that same time, junior enlisted service members are underpaid and often unable to afford basic necessities for their families. All the while, our military continues to face procurement shortfalls that threaten our ability to produce and deploy vital systems for our military. With rising threats abroad, what can policymakers do to restore readiness and strength to our armed forces? 

Please join Congressman Mike Garcia (CA-27) and Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a discussion on the way out of this crisis.

Japan’s adoption of a pathbreaking National Security Strategy in December 2022 began a transformative period for Japanese security policy. In their meeting in January 2023, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed joint efforts to strengthen the bilateral alliance to meet heightened challenges in the Indo-Pacific. Prime Minister Kishida has shown bold leadership of the democratic international community by visiting Ukraine last month, and committing to host the G7 summit in his hometown of Hiroshima from May 19 to 21. 

In this event hosted by Hudson Institute and Sasakawa USA, the Honorable Akira Amari—one of the most influential leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party in Japan’s House of Representatives and a champion of Japan’s economic security—will share his views on the G7 summit and Japanese leadership.  The Hon. Amari’s remarks will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by Dr. Kenneth R. Weinstein, distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute, and Dr. Satohiro Akimoto, chairman and president of Sasakawa USA.

Event Itinerary:

9:00 a.m.             Welcome from Dr. Kenneth R. Weinstein

9:05 a.m.             Introduction by Dr. Satohiro Akimoto

9:08 a.m.             Featured Remarks by the Honorable Akira Amari

9:38 a.m.             Q&A Discussion Moderated by Dr. Akimoto and Dr. Weinstein

10:15 a.m.          Event Concludes

For 70 years, the world’s oceans have been a global commons protected by America’s dominance of the high seas. However, since the end of World War II, the active US Navy fleet has shrunk from nearly 1,000 ships to fewer than 300. China and Russia are eager to fill this dangerous vacuum. 

Please join retired Navy Captain Dr. Jerry Hendrix and Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy Walton for a conversation about rebuilding American naval dominance. Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt will moderate the event.

Hudson Institute will host Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský for remarks on the Czech view of the Indo-Pacific, the war in Ukraine, and transatlantic relations, followed by a conversation with Europe and Eurasia Center Director Peter Rough.

Minister Lipavský has made transatlantic cooperation, democratic values, and human rights the centerpieces of his agenda since becoming foreign minister in December 2021. He is well known for his clear-eyed view of the challenges posed by the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. 

Minister Lipavský has also earned a reputation in Washington as a friend of Taiwan, an ally of the United States, and a supporter of Ukraine. He has called on the European Union to support “bullied” democracies “as much as possible” and has lobbied for Czechia’s military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, which includes generously hosting hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. 

Though some African countries strongly denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many African states have declined to condemn the Kremlin in United Nations resolutions. This reticence surprised Western policymakers, but it shouldn’t have.

As Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues to reverberate in Africa, please join Hudson Senior Fellows Peter Rough and Joshua Meservey as they welcome Joseph Sany of the United States Institute of Peace and Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations to analyze the historical, economic, and diplomatic complexities that shape the varied African perspectives on Russia.

With speculation rife about a spring counteroffensive, continued churn in Vladimir Putin’s approach to his illegal war, and the Vilnius NATO summit in July, the coming months will be critical for Ukraine’s future.   

Join us for a conversation about the latest developments in Ukraine and what an endgame could look like with visiting former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, International Republican Institute Senior Advisor for Transatlantic Strategy Reka Szemerkenyi, and Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey. 

Please join Rebeccah Heinrichs, Hudson senior fellow and director of the Keystone Defense Initiative, for a conversation with Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). Ms. Heinrichs and Gen. Bussiere will discuss the AFGSC’s role as the combat support to US Strategic Command, current AFGSC priorities, and the future weapons and platforms the AFGSC will require to complete its mission.

While the corrupt Nicolás Maduro regime presides over a deteriorating economy and mass emigration, the Venezuelan democratic opposition is organizing to hold the dictator accountable ahead of planned elections in 2024. 

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Venezuelan pro-democracy leader Leopoldo López on the situation in Venezuela, the growing alliance between authoritarian regimes, and the prospects for democracy in Venezuela and beyond. A former mayor of the municipality of Chacao, López is the founder and coordinator of the opposition party Voluntad Popular and co-founder of the World Liberty Congress. Since leaving Venezuela in 2020, he has lived in exile in Spain. 

Iran is already capable of enriching enough uranium to build several nuclear weapons in a matter of weeks, and its capacity is steadily growing. At the same time, Iran’s conventional military power is on the rise, bolstered by its burgeoning military alliance with Russia. Despite severe protests at home, Tehran shows no sign of moderating its hostility to the West—and the United States in particular. 

Alarmed by these facts, the Institute for Science and International Security (the good ISIS), the world leader in independent research and analysis on nuclear nonproliferation, has developed a methodology for assessing all dimensions of the Iranian threat simultaneously. Join Hudson Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Jonathan Schachter as they discuss the rise of Iran’s power and its implications for the US, Europe, and Israel with David Albright and Henrik Rasmussen of ISIS. 

After the decrease in oil and natural gas production and the depletion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, America’s energy security is at risk. Join Hudson Senior Fellow Brigham McCown for a discussion with Congressman Kelly Armstrong (R-ND) on energy’s impact on economic stability and the role of energy production in North Dakota’s economy. 

As Chinese Communist aggression threatens the stability of the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan stands as a beacon of democracy, prosperity, and human rights in the region, and as a contributing member of the community of democracies.

Legislative Yuan President You Si-kun was first elected to the Taiwan Provincial Assembly in 1981, and he has been a long-standing proponent of a free, democratic Taiwan. Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Nury Turkel for a conversation with President You, moderated by Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin, on how to defend Taiwan's hard-won democracy and uphold a free and open Indo-Pacific. 

Program:

12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Reception, light refreshments served

12:30 p.m. – 12:35 p.m. Introductory remarks by Nury Turkel

12:35 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Conversation with President You Si-kun, Nury Turkel, and Josh Rogin

1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Audience Q&A

Early last month, Seventieth US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo led a delegation of politicians, businessmen, and representatives of nongovernmental organizations to Kyiv, where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.   

As Sec. Pompeo told Fox News following the trip, “The least costly way to move forward is to provide the Ukrainians with what they need now . . . provide them with the tools and resources that they need today.”

As the world awaits a Ukrainian counteroffensive, join Hudson Center on Europe and Eurasia Director Peter Rough for a conversation with Sec. Pompeo about the secretary’s impressions from Ukraine, the state of the war, and what America should do next to support Ukraine.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has criticized Joe Biden for “boosting, and in many cases funding, both sides” of Russia’s war in Ukraine. As Iran aids Russia’s invasion, the Biden administration allows the regime in Tehran to rebuild its energy exports, restore its economy, and buy and sell weapons to the Russian Federation. This position has had catastrophic consequences for the safety and security of Americans. In the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Cruz recently told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that “no matter how much you may want to help Ukraine, there is something the Biden administration wants more, which is to re-enter a nuclear agreement with Iran.” 

Please join Michael Doran, Hudson senior fellow and director of the Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East, for a conversation with Senator Cruz about Cruz’s perspective on these issues and on global strategy more broadly.

Cybersecurity experts and technology policy officials, including those in the White House, are realizing that quantum computers will pose a significant threat to existing public encryption systems and that they need to act now to make America’s key infrastructure quantum ready and secure.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative (QAI) Arthur Herman and QAI Associate Director Alex Butler as they discuss their most recent report. This publication details the potential consequences of a future quantum computer attack on the Federal Reserve, specifically the Fedwire Funds Service, which facilitates large-scale interbank transactions. 

Mises Institute Senior Fellow and former Deputy Director of the Treasury Department’s Office of Financial Research Alex Pollock, and John Prisco, CEO and founder of Quantum Safe Inc., will discuss the implications of the report for the future of our financial system.

FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington will discuss his vision for American leadership in the space economy and the role that regulation can play in promoting an innovative and dynamic marketplace for space services. Commissioner Simington will then join former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth and a panel of leading experts in space technology and safety to discuss best practices in space sustainability and space traffic management.

As the world awaits the Ukrainian counteroffensive, leaders on Capitol Hill are playing a crucial role in maintaining US support for Ukraine and enabling Kyiv to liberate its territory and reestablish its sovereignty. A member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD) has been a leader on national defense issues. He has strongly advocated for backing Ukraine and other allies and partners, bolstering deterrence and capabilities, and supporting American leadership.

Join Center on Europe and Eurasia Director Peter Rough to hear what Senator Rounds has to say on the war and its importance to American interests.

s the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues and China’s military buildup threatens Taiwan, the US is grappling with how to respond. Does supporting Ukraine undermine US and allied efforts to deter China? Or would propelling Ukraine to victory over Russia be a crucial first step to dismantling a new axis of revisionist powers in Eurasia?

Please join Hudson Institute for a debate between Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters and Marathon Initiative Co-Founder and Principal Elbridge Colby on whether Ukrainian victory is critically important for deterring war in Taiwan.

Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine caught many Western countries off-guard. But Lithuania and its Baltic neighbors have spent decades defending their democracies from the Kremlin’s malign influence—and have consistently sounded the alarm over Vladimir Putin’s revanchist designs.

Alongside the aid from Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania’s military assistance to Ukraine proportionally far outstrips that of wealthier Western allies. Lithuania was also the first country to suspend Russian gas imports and to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Gintarė Skaistė, the Lithuanian minister of finance, on the impact of sanctions on the Russian economy—and what more the democratic allies can do to strengthen their scope and enforcement in order to constrain Russia’s war economy and support Ukrainian victory.

Senators Jim Risch (R-ID) and Roger Wicker (R-MS)—the leading Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Senate Armed Services Committee, respectively—remain two of the most prominent and vocal proponents of US support for Ukraine’s defense and territorial sovereignty, making the clear case that this support is in the American national interest. Their resolute support for Ukraine predates Russia’s full-scale invasion. They pressed the Biden administration to do more to deter Russia in the lead-up to Russia’s decision to invade last February, and continue to lead the campaign to provide Ukraine with the weapons necessary for repelling the Russian forces and ending the war on Ukrainian terms.

Please join Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Keystone Defense Initiative Rebeccah Heinrichs for a conversation with Senators Risch and Wicker on US support for Ukraine’s defense on Wednesday, March 29, at 4:00 p.m. A reception will follow.

The Abraham Accords have significantly increased trade, cultural interaction, and tourism among Israel and its Arab neighbors. In addition to strengthening these ties within the Middle East, the accords could also help forge links between member states and other regions, such as Europe and Asia. What have the Abraham Accords achieved thus far? What work remains to be done? What role, if any, can the accords play in helping the United States and its allies compete with China?

To answer these questions, please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis and Executive Director of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute Robert Greenway, moderated by Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Director Michael Doran.

China's steady diplomacy in Latin America has created new avenues for influence in the region. Beijing now has a larger footprint, stronger diplomatic ties, and greater economic leverage in Latin America than at any time in the past. Join Hudson Institute for an event hosted by China Center Director Miles Yu that will examine developments in China's engagement with Latin America and consider how the United States should respond to this challenge.

Last year, Tokyo released its newest National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Defense Buildup Program. These ambitious documents mark a significant shift in Japan’s strategic and defense postures. Hudson Institute’s Japan Chair hosts two professors from Keio University—Dr. Motohiro Tsuchiya and Prof. Koichiro Tanaka—to discuss the hurdles Tokyo needs to overcome to improve its active cyber defense and transition to different energy sources for both civilian and military use.

On March 22, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Jack Daniel’s v. VIP Products, an important dispute at the intersection of the First Amendment and trademark law. The case concerns VIP’s dog toy that copies Jack Daniel’s iconic Tennessee whiskey bottle, but with the name changed to “Bad Spaniels” and other humorous elements added. Jack Daniel’s claims that the toy infringes its trademarks and trade dress, while VIP maintains that its parodic use is protected expression. The Supreme Court will decide whether the Ninth Circuit erred in applying a First Amendment test that gives broad protection to humorous products that allegedly infringe. It will also address whether VIP’s use is noncommercial and thus immune from liability for tarnishing Jack Daniel’s reputation.

Please join Hudson Legal Fellow Devlin Hartline and expert panelists Megan K. Bannigan, Ben Sheffner, and Vijay Toke for a discussion on the importance of striking the right balance between free speech and trademark protection.

Forty years ago, on March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan addressed the American people to unveil “a vision of the future which offers hope,” namely, a program to counter the Soviet missile threat through defensive measures. Thus, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), the missile defense system that ultimately helped the United States prevail over the Soviet Union, was born. SDI was born from Reagan’s disdain for mutual assured destruction, and to instead encourage advances in defenses.

Hudson Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs is joined by Will Inboden to discuss his new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. They will also reflect on President Reagan’s visionary leadership for SDI as well as lessons for today’s major powers rivalry with the Chinese Communist Party.

Technology standards like 5G have revolutionized the way we use our smartphones, and they are bringing similar changes to other industries as connectivity becomes an invaluable feature for most products. Although the next revolution in the industry is already underway, some have questioned whether the government needs to revise the system by providing more information about the patents that are essential to practice technology standards. Join Hudson Institute’s panel to learn more about the methodologies for identifying essential patents.

The supply chain crisis provided a glimpse of America’s vulnerability to shipping bottlenecks as freight rates skyrocketed, key supplies were delayed or simply unavailable, consumer prices surged, and US exports were left behind. The US government could do little about the problem, in part because America has essentially no control over the international maritime logistics system. Fewer than 100 ships out of a global fleet of 50,000 are American, and no American shipping company is in the top 25. While the pandemic triggered the recent supply chain chaos, there is growing concern that China could weaponize its increasing control over supply chains and shipping, with catastrophic consequences for the US and global economy.

Former Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Peter DeFazio joins Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Roberts for a conversation on shipping and international trade, which will address why America finds itself in such a vulnerable position and what can be done to turn the ship around.

The outbreak of war in Ukraine triggered a much-ballyhooed Zeitenwende, or watershed moment, in Germany. One year later, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has just visited Washington for talks with President Joe Biden. What are Germany’s attitudes toward Russia, the United States, and China—and how are they reflected in Germany’s new policy outlook? Please join Peter Rough, senior fellow and director of Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia, as he sits down with MP Michael Link, coordinator for transatlantic relations at Germany’s foreign ministry, to take stock of Zeitenwende and the transatlantic relationship.

Last year the 117th Congress aptly assessed that the United States needed to support Ukrainians’ struggle for national independence. It did so by making substantial investments in Ukraine’s defense so that Kyiv could be victorious against Russia, a strategic adversary of America. The $113 billion in congressional aid to Ukraine has proven to be money well spent. The summer package helped propel Ukraine’s fall counteroffensive, in which the Armed Forces of Ukraine regained lost territory in the east and south, including the key city of Kherson. As the war enters its second year, a majority of Americans continue to favor US support for Ukraine. Congressional support for Ukraine’s defense will continue to play a crucial role, especially as Ukrainian officials work to ensure that their country does not win on the battlefield but then lose the war due to economic insolvency. If the US maintains its support, a decisive Ukrainian victory will both deter further Russian aggression in Europe and prevent an emboldened China from pursuing its revanchist aims in the Indo-Pacific.

Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey sits down with Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA) to analyze key aspects of Ukraine’s fight against the invading Russian forces, including the last Congress’s investments in Ukraine and the future of support in the 118th Congress for Ukraine’s defense.

India’s stance on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has led some to reexamine the trajectory of Indian grand strategy. Over time, is India more likely to align closely with its primary Quad partners—Japan and the United States—or is it more likely to become a third pole in international affairs, independent of both China and the US? Please join the Honorable Shigeru Kitamura, the former secretary general of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, who will examine India’s strategic trajectory in a conversation with Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Ken Weinstein.

Join Hudson Institute Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead for a discussion with historian Robert Kagan on his new book, The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900–1941.

About the Book

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the United States was one of the world’s richest, most populous, and most technologically advanced nations. It was also a nation divided along numerous fault lines, with conflicting aspirations and concerns pulling it in different directions. America’s resulting intervention in World War II marked the beginning of a new era for the United States and for the world.

In The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900–1941, Robert Kagan examines America’s rise to global superpower—from the Spanish–American War to World War II. Brilliant and insightful, The Ghost at the Feast shows both the perils of American withdrawal from the world and the price of international responsibility.

The Chinese Communist Party continues to persecute religious minorities and commit countless human rights abuses. Despite China’s attempts to mask its atrocities, evidence indicates that Beijing is committing mass sterilizations, separating children from their families, and forcing those who dare to practice the religion of their choice into labor camps. What are the implications of these atrocities for American national security strategy?

Please join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Religious Freedom Nina Shea and Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt as they discuss this important challenge.

Please join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a speech from Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) on the importance of defending Taiwan amid increasing tension between the United States and China.

The Indo-Pacific region stands at a critical juncture today. Over the past few years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has adopted an increasingly coercive and aggressive approach to advancing its interests and reshaping the rules-based international order at the expense of the region’s security and stability.

On the heels of Secretary Lloyd Austin’s travels to the Indo-Pacific, Hudson Asia-Pacific Security Chair Dr. Patrick M. Cronin and Senior Fellow Rebeccah Heinrichs will host Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Dr. Ely Rattner and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Lindsey W. Ford for a conversation on the Department of Defense’s vision for building a more resilient security architecture in Southeast Asia and across the region. The defense officials will discuss the department’s strategy and investments toward modernizing US alliances and partnerships, strengthening regional security networks, and enhancing deterrence to sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The war in Ukraine has shown that industrial might and logistics remain vitally important in a military confrontation when other modern warfare methods are not immediately decisive. When applying those lessons to a potential conflict in the western Pacific—where maritime logistics would be crucial, and where China’s maritime industry is growing—America faces challenges. For generations, the United States has not treated the American commercial shipping and shipbuilding industries as important components of national power. So today the US maritime industry is too small to contribute as much as it should to America’s military and economic security.

Hudson will host a conversation that examines the current state of the US maritime industry, its potential role in a western Pacific conflict, and the short- and long-term options to restore an American industry that promotes American security.

Rear Admiral Mark Buzby (US Navy, ret.) is the guest speaker. A graduate of the US Merchant Marine Academy and US Naval War College, Adm. Buzby served as the commander of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command and head of the Maritime Administration in the US Department of Transportation. No one has done more over the past decade to try to reinvigorate the American maritime industry.

This event is the kickoff for a series sponsored by the Maritime Research Program, a joint project offered by Hudson Institute’s Center for Defense Concepts and Technology and the Navy League’s Center for Maritime Strategy. Michael Roberts, a senior fellow with both organizations, will host the conversation.

Azerbaijan’s victory over Armenia in the Second Karabakh War in 2020 led to a peace process that began auspiciously but then stalled. For over two months, the two sides have been locked in a bitter disagreement over the Lachin corridor, the mountainous road that links Armenia to the ethnic Armenian enclave in Karabakh. According to international law, the corridor is in the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, but in keeping with the armistice agreement of 2020, a Russian peacekeeping force is in de facto control. Azerbaijan accuses Armenia (and, by implication, Russia and Iran) of exploiting the corridor and the enclave to shift the balance of power against Azerbaijan and prevent a peace deal. Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of blocking the corridor and, thereby, creating a humanitarian crisis in the Armenian sectors of Karabakh. Despite this ongoing controversy, in recent weeks reports indicate that Armenian and Azerbaijani negotiators—with the help of Washington, Brussels, and Moscow—are moving forward on peace talks. What is the state of play on these issues? What is at stake for the United States? How should the Biden administration proceed?

To answer these questions, Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran hosts a discussion between Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov, the assistant to the first vice president of Azerbaijan, and Hudson Senior Fellow Luke Coffey.

Russia’s use of Iranian-made drones in Ukraine reveals that the alliance between Moscow and Tehran is more multifaceted and dangerous than previously understood. Indeed, the Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 loitering munitions have inflicted heavy damage on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Moreover, the Wall Street Journal revealed that “Moscow and Tehran are moving ahead with plans to build a new factory in Russia that could make at least 6,000 Iranian-designed drones.” Not only will this joint venture resupply Russia’s arsenal, but it will also lead to an increase in the size and sophistication of Iran’s defense industrial base. What is the full extent of the threat? How should the United States respond?

Software is increasingly central to every sector of the American economy, and as the war in Ukraine makes clear, computer algorithms often mean the difference between victory and defeat for a modern military. The US government recently began restoring its competitive position in computer hardware with the CHIPs and Science Act and with export controls on chipmaking technology to China. The software supply chain requires similar attention if the US military and economy are to harvest the benefits of software-defined capabilities.

Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Bryan Clark for a discussion with Representative Tony Gonzales, Conquest Cyber Chief Software Officer Jason Weiss, and Peraton Director of Navy Missions Cliff Bean about the challenges and opportunities in new approaches to strengthening and securing the nation’s software supply chains. 

Western governments responded to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine with unprecedented speed and coordination, imposing sanctions on thousands of companies and individuals that had previously served as conduits for the Kremlin’s malign influence.

But democracies are still waking up to the national security threat posed by powerful authoritarian regimes that routinely engage in crime, corruption, and coercion as tools of economic statecraft.

The Rt. Hon. Tom Tugendhat was appointed minister for security at the UK Home Office in 2022, with responsibility for issues including domestic state threats and economic crime. From 2017 to 2022, he served as chair of the UK Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, a role in which he led efforts to expose Russian malign influence.

Please join Hudson Institute for a keynote speech by Minister Tugendhat on state threats, illicit finance, and economic security.

The new Chinese foreign minister’s first foreign trip was to Angola, where he offered a package to build high-speed telecommunications infrastructure, which Huawei will most likely construct. The history of Chinese aid to Angola is rife with corrupting effects involving billions of dollars in diverted oil sector funds and implicating the highest levels of government.

Join Hudson Institute and International Republican Institute experts in welcoming award-winning Angolan investigative journalist Rafael Marques as he presents new information about the malign influence of Chinese aid. They will also discuss the broader impact of Chinese efforts to win allies and gain an economic advantage in Africa.

Open-border policies have invited a once-in-a-generation humanitarian crisis at the US southern border. The number of monthly encounters between US Border Patrol agents and migrants attempting to cross is at a record high. Transnational drug cartels continue to bring illicit drugs like fentanyl from Mexico to the United States, exacerbating the American opioid epidemic. What can and should policymakers do to end this humanitarian crisis, stop the flow of drugs, and restore the rule of law at our southern border?

Please join Hudson Distinguished Fellow and former US Attorney General Bill Barr and Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt for a discussion on the way out of this crisis.

Please join Peter Rough, Hudson Institue senior fellow and director of the Center on Europe and Eurasia, for a discussion with Žygimantas Pavilionis, Radoslaw Fogiel, and Oleksandr Merezhko, chairs of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committees of Lithuania, Poland, and Ukraine, respectively. The three chairmen will provide an update on how their countries are coping with the war in Ukraine, the scope and level of coordination within the Lublin Triangle, and what they anticipate for the year to come.

Dr. Eyal Hulata served as the national security advisor to Israeli Prime Ministers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. Israel starts 2023 with a prime minister who is both new and old, a new army chief of staff, and a long list of old and new national security challenges. Dr. Hulata joins us to share insights gleaned from his time in office and his sense of the major decisions his successor will face in the coming year.

Several weeks ago, the new Israeli justice minister, Yariv Levin, announced plans to reform the country’s judicial system by curtailing the very broad power of Israel’s judiciary to appoint judges, nullify laws, and otherwise regulate public life. In the view of its supporters, the reform will revitalize democracy. “We go to the polls, vote, elect, and time after time, people we didn’t elect choose for us,” Levin claimed. “Many sectors of the public look to the judicial system and do not find their voices heard. That is not democracy.” Levin’s critics have the exact opposite view. In their eyes, judicial reform is anti-democratic.

More than 100,000 demonstrators gathered recently in Habima Square in Tel Aviv to protest Levin’s plan. Many thousands more rallied in other cities throughout the country. “Now is the hour of darkness,” author David Grossman told the crowd. To help us better understand what’s going on, we have invited Gadi Taub—an Israeli historian, author, and prominent supporter of the reform—to walk us through the debate.

In ten years, Chinese ownership of US farmland has jumped from $81 million in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2020. What does it mean for American food security when foreign adversaries expand their footprint in the US agriculture industry? What can Congress do to protect Americans from both a food and national security crisis?

Please join Congressman Austin Scott (R-GA) and Hudson Media Fellow Jeremy Hunt as they discuss this important issue.

As ideological fault lines in the United States continue to shift, supporters of socialist policies have grown louder and more emboldened by far-Left politicians. Ambassador Haley delivered remarks on why capitalism remains the best economic system ever created, followed by a conversation with Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Peter Rough.

On April 10, 2015 Hudson Institute’s Center for Chinese Strategy hosted a conversation with David Feith, Hong Kong-based editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal, and Libby Liu, president of Radio Free Asia, to examine the legacy of the Hong Kong protests, the future of uncensored media, and the democracy movement. Michael Pillsbury, director of the Center for Chinese Strategy, moderated the discussion.

On July 24, Hudson Institute hosted U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island for a one-on-one discussion with Hudson Distinguished Fellow Walter Russell Mead on U.S. national security.

On May 29, Hudson Institute hosted the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, Jr., for a discussion on Russian and Chinese nuclear weapons.

On May 14, the Hudson Institute hosted a conversation on American foreign policy featuring Walter Russell Mead and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney.

On April 25th, Hudson Institute hosted an event with Ambassador William F. Hagerty to discuss the future of U.S.-Japan relations.

On March 26th, the Hudson Institute hosted Rob Spalding and Nadia Schadlow to discuss the future role of the U.S. in 5G development.

On Oct 24, he Hudson Institute and Freedom House’s Mark Palmer Forum for the Advancement of Democracy held a conference on China’s global challenge to democratic freedom.

On Oct 11, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion to consider papal and Chinese motives for the China-Vatican deal, its diplomatic consequences, and the history of the Vatican’s relations with authoritarian communist nations.

On Oct 9, Hudson held a meeting to reexamine the anthrax events of 2001, as well as subsequent biological events.

On Oct 5, Hudson Institute's Kleptocracy Initiative held a discussion on safeguarding the European banking system against illicit financial flows from Russia and the former Soviet Union.

On Oct 4, Vice President Mike Pence delivered a major speech on the administration’s policy towards China at Hudson Institute.

On Oct 3, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion to examine the current state of Syria and risks of new regional conflict.

On September 27, Secretary Lehman joined Hudson Institute’s Seth Cropsey, senior fellow and director of the Center for American Seapower, to discuss his new book.

On September 26, Hudson Institute held a symposium regarding recent U.S. and Chinese tariffs and possible solutions to the mounting bilateral trade tensions.

On September 21, Hudson Institute held a discussion on the importance of joint U.S.-Japanese defense of Japan’s southwest islands.

On September 19, Hudson Institute hosted a panel examining the current state of Iraq.

On September 19, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion with Brian Hook, who was recently named special envoy to Iran and will lead the Iran Action Group.

On September 14, Hudson Institute’s Task Force on Federal IT Procurement hosted a panel to assess the lessons learned from the JEDI acquisition process.

On September 13, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss how best to strengthen the security relationship between the U.S. and Taiwan.

On September 12, Hudson Institute and the Federalist Society, hosted a panel to discuss developments in quantum computing and intellectual property.

On September 11, Hudson convened a panel with the co-chairs of the new report to discuss their assessments of Cooperative Threat Reduction programs.

On September 10, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the war on terrorism.

On September 6, Hudson Institute’s South and Central Asia Program hosted a panel to discuss the important U.S.-India relationship.

On September 6, Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative held a discussion on a new report examining what policies are needed to close the loopholes commonly exploited by foreign kleptocrats and their professional facilitators in the United States.

On September 5, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss CPEC and the evolving relationship between China and Pakistan.

On September 5, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion on the PRC’s “war on terrorism.”

On September 4, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion between Mr. Hazony and William A. Galston.

On August 29, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the obstacles complicating reconstruction in Syria.

On August 23, Hudson Institute’s South and Central Asia Program hosted a panel to discuss the current political climate in Afghanistan.

On August 15, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss Iran, the effectiveness of the U.S. “Maximum Pressure” campaign, the regime’s ability to navigate sanctions, and the country’s widening protests.

On August 8, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the recent unrest in Nicaragua.

On August 7, Hudson Institute’s South and Central Asia Program hosted a panel to discuss Pakistan’s 2018 elections.

On July 31, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the drivers, prospects, and implications of CFIUS reform.

On July 31, Commissioner Brendan Carr and Harold Furchtgott-Roth discussed Connected Care and other communications issues facing the United States.

On July 30, Hudson Institute’s Task Force on Federal IT Procurement hosted a panel to discuss the structure, requirements, and best practices for JEDI’s implementation.

On July 26, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the long and short-term implications of the recent elections in Mexico.

On July 25, Hudson Institute hosted a panel of leading drug policy experts to examine the opioid epidemic and discuss solutions to help reverse this growing national crisis.

On July 24, Hudson Institute was joined by the Secretary Wilbur Ross and House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith to discuss the Department of Commerce’s evolving role in the space sector.

On July 18, Hudson Institute held a discussion on the future of the U.S. Navy and its role in American defense and foreign policy.

On July 13, Hudson Institute hosted Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats for a discussion with on global and regional threats with Walter Russell Mead.

On July 12, Hudson Institute hosted a public event to discuss the summit and the many challenges currently faced by the Alliance.

On July 3, Hudson Institute hosted Gerónimo Gutiérrez Fernández, Ambassador of Mexico to the United States, for a discussion about the current state of U.S.-Mexico relations.

On June 27, Hudson Institute hosted a screening of the Sam and Ammar Show followed by a discussion with the co-hosts.

On June 26, Hudson Institute held a panel Poland’s contributions to fighting tyranny, its active role in NATO, and the country’s strategic importance.

On June 21, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion with Archimandrite Dr. Alexi Chehadeh on the displacement of the Syrian people.

On June 20, Hudson held a discussion on NATO’s efforts to adapt to a new security environment characterized by disruptive technologies and hybrid warfare tactics.

On June 20, Hudson held a review and discussion of a new report on Chinese influence operations.

On June 18, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the current political situation in Nicaragua and Venezuela.

On June 14, Hudson Institute hosted a presentation of highlights from the new report from Hudson's Food Policy Center.

On June 7, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion examining growing hostility towards Taiwan.

On May 30, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion with Ambassador Nathan A. Sales, the coordinator for counterterrorism at the U.S. State Department.

On May 29th, Hudson Institute in cooperation with the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) held a discussion on current trends and insights on Iran.

On May 25, Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative welcomed Spain’s Judge José Grinda Gonzalez.

On May 22, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to assess the political coalitions taking shape in Iraq and weigh the potential consequences of the election for Iraq, Iran, the U.S., and the region.

On May 21st, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion addressing questions about the impact of state subsidies and other directed benefits on the international aviation market.

On May 16, Hudson Institute hosted a panel to discuss the possibility of a democratic transition in Cuba.

On May 10th, Hudson Institute hosted Israel’s ambassador to the U.S., Ron Dermer, for a discussion on the future of the Iran Deal after President Trump’s withdrawal announcement.

On May 10th, Hudson Institute hosted a conversation with Congressman Rob Wittman.

On May 9, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion to weigh arguments for and against remaining in the JCPOA.

On May 8, Hudson convened a panel to discuss the implications of shifting U.S. military strategy in the region and Syria’s long-term prospects moving forward.

On May 4, Hudson Institute hosted a discussion on the Xinjiang police state.