Hudson Institute Events Podcast

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.