Hudson Institute Events Podcast

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.