The AUKUS agreement—which includes Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—is best known for the nuclear submarines that Australia will receive at the end of this decade. But AUKUS’s lesser-known second pillar focuses on technology sharing and is more likely to affect the Australian Defense Force’s capability and capacity in the near term. Uncrewed systems are one of the foundations of AUKUS Pillar Two, which also includes hypersonic weapons, quantum technology, and electronic warfa...
Feb 02, 2024•59 min•Ep. 522
The People’s Republic of China poses a colossal threat to American values and the freedom-based world order. No other nation that has confronted the United States and its allies has possessed China’s combination of economic and military strength, which enables Beijing’s exploitative and bellicose foreign policies. If American citizens are not strong, Washington cannot lead internationally. If the US falters, despotic regimes led by the PRC will fill the void. And America can only succeed in defe...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 521
For more than 200 years, the United States Marine Corps has been America’s “911 force”—the service that is always ready to respond to crises and conflicts in every theater. The USMC is constantly evolving to exploit new concepts and technologies, and now employs advanced missiles and artillery alongside unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, and cyber and electronic warfare. But even as they transform for the future, Marines are called upon to protect US allies and citizens in conflicts acro...
Jan 25, 2024•59 min•Ep. 520
Last weekend’s election in Taiwan, which is officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is the most consequential presidential contest in the Asia-Pacific region in 2024. In this contentious yet free, open, fair, and democratic election, candidates from the three main political parties (the victorious Democratic Progressive Party, the main opposition Kuomintang, and the populist third party the Taiwan People’s Party) vigorously debated key issues for the island’s future. These issues are no...
Jan 24, 2024•43 min•Ep. 519
What are the long-term implications of the United States’ current economic challenges, federal debt, and demographic trends for American national security? Although the president recently signed the $886 billion 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, what is the future of US defense spending? How do important federal domestic programs, interest on the national debt, and persistent and growing entitlement programs affect the funds available for national security? What types of spending does the...
Jan 24, 2024•54 min•Ep. 518
Hudson Senior Fellow James Przystup’s recent study examines how the Indo-Pacific security environment evolved during 2022, in part because of measures by key regional actors—such as the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, and India—to strengthen deterrence. In addition, these countries expanded their diplomatic coordination and security cooperation, which reflected a strategic commitment among the region’s democracies to support a rules-based order and advance a shared vision...
Jan 24, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 516
While Taiwan’s new president will not take office for a few months after the election on January 13, the implications of this new government can already be felt throughout the region. What is the significance of the incoming government on United States–Taiwan relations? How will the new government handle its relations with the People’s Republic of China? Will the incoming government have the domestic and international support it needs to meet the multifaceted challenges facing Taiwan’s military,...
Jan 24, 2024•58 min•Ep. 517
The future of the West’s economic engagement with the People’s Republic of China is increasingly uncertain. Though the PRC seems integral to the global economy, it is an increasingly untrustworthy and dangerous partner for Western corporations. The Chinese government’s August 2023 raids on American corporations operating in China further signaled the need for firms to reconsider their relationships with the PRC. Against the backdrop of an international conversation regarding “decoupling” and “de...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 515
The United States–Finland relationship has grown closer than ever, and developments in the transatlantic community have shown that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s importance is greater now than it has been in decades. Additionally, Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine shows no sign of letting up as some Americans question continued military aid to Kyiv. Next year, NATO will hold its historic seventy-fifth anniversary summit in Washington, DC. As NATO’s newest member, Finland plays a...
Dec 18, 2023•43 min•Ep. 514
Hudson Senior Fellow Mario Mancuso sits down with Ambassador John Sullivan, who served as United States ambassador to Russia immediately before, during, and after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. One of America’s most distinguished public servants, Ambassador Sullivan has served under five US presidents, in leadership roles at four cabinet departments, and as deputy secretary of the Departments of State and Commerce. Amid the ongoing debate about additional US funding for Ukraine, Ambassado...
Dec 18, 2023•38 min•Ep. 513
Hamas terrorists’ October 7 invasion of southern Israel included the wide-scale rape of Israeli women as a weapon of war, which Secretary of State Antony Blinken said was “beyond anything that I've seen.” However, it has largely been met with silence from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to numerous other global women’s rights groups. Meanwhile, Israeli officials believe about 18 women remain in Hamas custody. And United States officials have ...
Dec 13, 2023•45 min•Ep. 512
The Quad members (the United States, Japan, Australia, and India) have committed to uphold peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, and Taiwan is at the heart of this goal for the US and Japan. But Taiwan’s global partnerships extend beyond defense to technology cooperation, trade, investment, and more. What are the Quad members’ respective interests in Taiwan? How can cooperation through the Quad expand these relationships? And how can the Quad support Taiwan as it seeks to increase its collabo...
Dec 11, 2023•58 min•Ep. 511
Representative Mike Waltz (FL-6), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI), will moderate a panel on China’s influence operations in the United States with Hudson Senior Fellows John Lee and Miles Yu and Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Fellow Craig Singleton as part of the committee’s Beyond the SCIF series. Hudson President and CEO John Walters will deliver opening remarks. The panelists will discuss the scope of the Chinese Communist Party’s influen...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 510
Several Latin American nations are experiencing an erosion of democratic governance and a rise in populism. A combination of internal and external factors has caused this democratic recession, raising important questions for the region’s future and the United States’ interests. Join Hudson Institute and leading Latin America experts for a discussion of the causes of the current democratic recession, the role of citizens’ attitudes, and approaches to renewing the region’s democracies. The speaker...
Dec 11, 2023•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 510
President Joe Biden has stated that Ukraine’s success in defending itself against Russian aggression is “vital for America’s national security.” Seventieth Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has argued that “the outcome of this war will have a direct impact on US national security.” Yet despite significant bipartisan support for Kyiv, the prospect of continued United States aid to Ukraine remains uncertain. What is the path forward for Ukraine aid in Congress? Can a bipartisan coalition hold in the ...
Dec 05, 2023•48 min•Ep. 509
External actors have accelerated their efforts to shape public opinion in Latin America in order to sow distrust in democracy and undermine the United States’ interests in the region. Russia has waged a particularly effective campaign. According to the new US Institute for Peace report Russian Influence Campaigns in Latin America , Moscow has succeeded at amplifying anti-US narratives and neutralizing opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Join Hudson Institute for a discussion with the aut...
Dec 05, 2023•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 508
Alsu Kurmasheva is the most recent American journalist Russia has wrongfully arrested because of his or her profession and citizenship. On October 18, Russia accused Kurmasheva, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) journalist based in Prague, of failing to self-register as a “foreign agent”—even though she was in Russia to visit her ailing mother. This is the first known instance of such a charge in Russia. The US government has not yet received official notification of Kurmasheva’s detent...
Dec 01, 2023•55 min•Ep. 507
Last December, the United States Department of Defense unveiled the Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider, the newest American strategic bomber capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear munitions. Current planning has the US Air Force set to acquire at least 100 B-21s, with a few dozen of the bombers to be operational by the end of the decade. Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and Director of the Keystone Defense Initiative Rebeccah Heinrichs led an assessment of the crucial role the B-21 bomber wil...
Nov 30, 2023•54 min•Ep. 506
Under the direction of Xi Jinping, China has embarked on an effort to undermine American global economic and political leadership. Hudson Senior Fellow Thomas J. Duesterberg’s new study, China’s Economic Weakness and Challenge to the Bretton Woods System: How Should the US Respond? , lays out how the faltering Chinese economy provides the United States with leverage to push back on Xi’s aggressive and insidious program. Hudson Institute will host a panel of leading China experts to discuss the f...
Nov 28, 2023•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 505
The revelation that Russia has recruited hundreds of Cubans to fight in Ukraine underscores the desperation of Cuban citizens and the expansion of cooperation between Cuba and Russia. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel declared that Russia has Cuba’s “unconditional support.” Hudson Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle will moderate a panel examining the ramifications of the Cuba-Russia alliance and Havana’s decision to prevent more Cuban citizens from joining Russia’s war in Ukraine with Senior Fellow Ca...
Nov 21, 2023•54 min•Ep. 504
Pakistan is mired in a multidimensional crisis with political, social, economic, and security implications. General elections are scheduled for late January 2024, extending the caretaker government’s term by three months. The influential Pakistani security establishment appears more in control today than it has been in recent years. Inflation remains at an all-time high, and Pakistan’s economic growth has slowed as the agricultural and manufacturing sectors contract. The country’s domestic weakn...
Nov 21, 2023•46 min•Ep. 503
The world continues to feel the impact of President Joe Biden’s precipitous withdrawal of United States forces from Afghanistan. During the evacuation, 13 American service members perished in the Kabul airport bombing, and afterward Afghanistan fell into chaos once again. The US left behind billions of dollars of military equipment and other antiterrorism tools. And the withdrawal may have contributed to Russia’s calculation that its full-scale invasion of Ukraine would be worth the cost. More t...
Nov 21, 2023•53 min•Ep. 502
As the global economy shifts toward Asia, India will play an increasingly prominent role in global affairs. India’s large population and high-tech industry, among other assets, make it a vital counterweight against China’s rise. The United States recently became India’s largest trading partner, but there is still much to be sorted out in this growing partnership. Policymakers in New Delhi and Washington will need to collaborate more closely than in the past to sustain India’s economic developmen...
Nov 21, 2023•1 hr 51 min•Ep. 501
The United States and its allies have frozen more than $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets as part of their response to the Kremlin’s illegal war against Ukraine. Ukraine’s reconstruction costs are estimated to be around $400 billion and counting. But there is no need for Ukrainians, let alone US taxpayers, to foot the bill for Russia’s unprovoked aggression. The bipartisan Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity (REPO) for Ukrainians Act would authorize the US to seize and repurpose...
Nov 16, 2023•58 min•Ep. 500
Canada and the United States are quietly diverging on many important geopolitical issues. Yet any reasoned survey of the two neighbors’ interests would quickly conclude that Washington and Ottawa should be closely aligned on matters including national security, the future of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, opposition to authoritarian regimes, the Arctic, energy, critical minerals, and more. To put the US-Canada relationship back on sound footing, the nations should start by telling each ...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 499
Governor Chris Christie, presidential candidate and former governor of New Jersey, will give a foreign policy address at Hudson Institute. Following his remarks, he will sit down for a fireside chat with Hudson Senior Fellow Michael Doran. Hudson President and CEO John P. Walters will deliver opening remarks. 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 Part...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 498
In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine for the second time in eight years. Despite the odds, Ukrainians gallantly defended Kyiv in the war’s early days and conducted a successful counteroffensive around Kharkiv and Kherson last year. However, as Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its second winter, the stakes are high. Hudson’s Center on Europe and Eurasia will host Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak to discuss the state of the 2023 counteroffensive, the ...
Nov 13, 2023•49 min•Ep. 497
The war in Gaza is much more than a conflict between Israelis and Palestinians; it is part of a broader Iranian plan to undermine the American-led order in the Middle East. As 3,000 Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorists stormed over the border from Gaza and murdered 1,400 Israelis, Lebanese Hezbollah—another Iranian proxy—increased its pressure on Israel’s northern border. As Israel began its ground incursion, the Iranian-sponsored Houthis fired drones and missiles toward Israeli cities...
Nov 09, 2023•48 min•Ep. 496
Whether Russian President Vladimir Putin dies in office, is ousted in a palace coup, or relinquishes power for some unforeseen reason, the United States and its allies would face a radically different Russia with the Kremlin under new management. The geopolitical stakes mean that policymakers would be negligent not to plan for the consequences of a post-Putin Russia. Join Hudson Institute’s Center on Europe and Eurasia for a discussion on how US and allied policymakers can prepare for a Russia a...
Nov 08, 2023•53 min•Ep. 495
Patrick M. Cronin, Asia-Pacific security chair at Hudson Institute, will moderate a discussion with Ambassador Shin-wha Lee, South Korean ambassador for international cooperation on North Korean human rights. As North Korea’s nuclear buildup, political repression, and strengthening ties with Russia and China undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in northeast Asia, Ambassador Lee will explore these issues and identify the most important avenues for bilateral cooperation in the...
Nov 07, 2023•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 494
