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.