Hudson Institute Events Podcast

The Sahel is quickly becoming an important battleground in a high-stakes geopolitical contest—and Russia is making bold moves. From military entanglements to economic footholds and disinformation campaigns, Moscow’s expanding influence is upending old alliances and forcing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western governments to rethink their strategies.Join Research Fellow Zineb Riboua as she interviews Mali-based expert Ulf Laessing, director of the Regional Sahel Program at the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, for a discussion on the shifting power dynamics in the Sahel.

Since Venezuela’s July 28, 2024, presidential election, which opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia won decisively, Nicolás Maduro’s regime has defied the will of the people and intensified its campaign of repression and terror. Over 1,600 political prisoners remain behind bars, while opposition leaders have been forced into hiding or exile. Despite international condemnation, Maduro had himself inaugurated for a third term in January.Under Maduro, Venezuela has transformed into a criminal hub, facilitating illicit activities that threaten regional stability. Although the regime released six American citizens in February, Maduro’s Venezuela continues to deepen its strategic alliances with rogue states like Iran, posing a growing threat to the security of the United States.Join Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle and the leader of the Venezuelan opposition, María Corina Machado, for a discussion on the implications of Maduro’s dictatorship for Venezuela and the United States.

The past two weeks of United States–European relations have seen a flurry of activity, beginning with the visit of a US delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, to the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris and the Munich Security Conference.As the Trump administration lays out its next steps, join Hudson for an event with Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and vice president of the European Commission. She will join Senior Fellow Peter Rough for a fireside chat on the war in Ukraine, EU relations with the new US government, and the future of the transatlantic alliance.Kallas is one of Europe’s most clear-eyed leaders, a reputation she earned while serving as prime minister of Estonia from 2021 until 2024. Kallas distinguished herself as a key partner of Ukraine and a dedicated ally of the United States. She is off to a running start in the European Commission, putting forward ideas for how Europe can support Ukraine going forward.

Major General Joseph Kunkel, the Air Force’s director for force design, integration, and wargaming, will discuss why the Air Force needs to rapidly evolve its capabilities and how it can generate, in the near-term and beyond, combat-effective, agile, and adaptive airpower at scale.Major General Kunkel will join Hudson Institute Senior Fellows Dan Patt and Timothy A. Walton for a fireside chat. Major General Kunkel will then take questions from the audience.

The Chinese Communist Party’s economic warfare has granted it tremendous influence in American society, industry, and even government. Never was this more apparent than during the COVID-19 pandemic, when those who questioned the CCP’s conduct around the virus—and potential role in creating it—faced accusations of hysteria, xenophobia, and fearmongering.Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) was one such voice. In his new book Seven Things You Can’t Say about China, he examines how the CCP threatens Americans—from its unprecedented military buildup to its role in the fentanyl trade—and how China uses its influence in media, academia, Wall Street, and Washington to silence critics.Senator Cotton will join Hudson President and CEO John Walters to discuss the senator’s new book and why Communist China is America’s most dangerous enemy.

Israel faces mounting challenges on multiple fronts in an increasingly complex security environment. The Trump administration’s postwar plan for Gaza has sparked debate over Israel’s long-term strategy, while instability in Syria continues to threaten regional security. Meanwhile, Washington’s evolving approach to the Middle East raises key questions about the future of the United States’ relations with Israel and the region more broadly.Hudson Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Director Michael Doran will sit down with Member of the Israeli Knesset Amit Halevi for a conversation on these issues.

For decades, the United States has sought to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons among friends and foes alike. But this goal may be at risk. Adversaries like China, Russia, and North Korea pose an increased threat, leading US allies to question America’s security guarantees. In particular, South Korea appears to doubt the credibility of US extended deterrence. Seoul has sought to strengthen deterrence and even weighed the benefits of acquiring its own nuclear weapons. To promote nonproliferation, the United States should prioritize improving regional deterrence and assurance.In a new policy memo, “Nonproliferation in Great Power Competition,” Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs and Contributor Yashar Parsie examine the arguments for and against US nonproliferation efforts and argue that nonproliferation remains a worthy goal. They will discuss the memo and its recommendations in a conversation moderated by Senior Fellow Peter Rough.

The United States Navy faces challenges across many of its shipbuilding programs. Thanks to numerous causes, some programs are years behind schedule. At the same time, China is building up its fleet and intensifying threats against US allies. The chief of naval operations and other Pentagon leaders are concerned that Beijing may be preparing to move against Taiwan in the next two years. While the US may be unable to surge production of existing ships by that time, the Navy could increase the number of available vessels by improving ship repair, accelerating new, smaller ship classes, and buying or chartering ships built by shipyards in allied countries.Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Tim Walton for a discussion with Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development, and Acquisition Nickolas Guertin. Following the discussion, two panels of industry experts will address further challenges and opportunities to expand the US Navy fleet.

The debate over what constitutes democratic and acceptable governance in the twenty-first century European Union continues regarding several member states, including Poland. The governing center-left Citizens Coalition, led by the Civic Platform party and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, charges the right-of-center Law and Justice party with violations against democracy, the rule of law, and media freedom. Law and Justice, led by former PM Jaroslaw Kaczynski, denies these charges and accuses the current government of excesses on the same issues.There is more than one valid view on this nexus of issues, both regarding the period Law and Justice governed Poland (2015–23) and since Civic Coalition took office in December 2023.  They are more complex and nuanced than the prevailing narratives about “democrats” and “illiberal, far-right” politicians.Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse and Peter Doran of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies for a discussion of their recent in-depth examination of objectivity, consistency, and politics in the debate about democracy, rule of law, media freedom, and more. Heritage Foundation’s Jim Carafano will moderate the discussion.

In The Big Steal: Ideology, Interest, and the Undoing of Intellectual Property, Professor Jonathan Barnett shows how an “accidental alliance” of tech platforms, academics, and advocacy groups weakened intellectual property (IP) protections for inventors and artists. Under the popular slogan that “information wants to be free,” many people in academia and the tech community advocated for actions by the United States Supreme Court, Congress, and antitrust agencies that eroded IP rights as digital platforms emerged in the tech and content markets. The result is a skewed innovation ecosystem that favors platform-based business models over the creative disruptors that ultimately drive the US knowledge economy. When information is free, the price paid by society can be high.Please join Senior Fellow Adam Mossoff for a discussion with Professor Barnett about The Big Steal and what policymakers need to do to revive a healthy, growing US innovation economy that sustains America’s global tech leadership and its national security interests.