Hudson Institute Events Podcast

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.