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The United States military faces multiple intensifying challenges. China, a peer adversary, has eroded the US military’s post–Cold War dominance and threatens the sovereignty and economic prosperity of the US and its allies and partners around the globe. Facing flat budgets, the Pentagon is pursuing resilience, flexibility, interoperability, and affordable scale to gain an edge. Far from the exquisite precision strikes of Operation Desert Storm, US forces will need to assemble kill chains in the field from a changing variety of commercial and military systems to undermine enemy decision-making and sustain a potential protracted fight.
In order to implement the interoperability and command and control that the US military needs for a more adaptable and resilient force, leaders from the Department of Defense and its industry partners will have to cooperate. Join Hudson Senior Fellow Bryan Clark and Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and CEO Jim Taiclet for a conversation about how the Pentagon and its suppliers can work together to overcome these challenges and ensure US forces can continue to dissuade aggression.
On September 19, Azerbaijan launched a rapid military operation to take full control of Karabakh, a region that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but which is home to tens of thousands of Armenians. What led to Azerbaijan’s latest move? What are the move’s implications? Will it bring Armenia and Azerbaijan closer to a lasting peace?
To answer these questions, Hudson Senior Fellows Michael Doran and Luke Coffey host a discussion with Ambassador Elchin Amirbayov, representative of the president of the Republic of Azerbaijan on special assignments.
Pentagon leaders largely view the Indo-Pacific through an air and maritime lens. But in the region, armies are the dominant military branch in national security priorities and doctrine. This gives the United States Army an opportunity to build relationships with its counterparts across the Indo-Pacific and establish security infrastructure for use in future conflicts. The resilience these “interior lines” provide could be decisive in deterring aggression.
Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion with General Charles A. Flynn, commanding general of the US Army, Pacific, about the Army’s changing role in the region and how long-term campaigning can help the US compete with and deter China.
Xi Jinping’s revanchist nationalism has led European officials to rethink their China policies, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has ended any chance of a Russia-Japan entente. Europe, Japan, and Australia increasingly work together to support Ukraine, conduct combined military exercises and development, and enact policies to de-risk their industrial bases from Chinese economic coercion.
Hudson’s Japan Chair will host Eva Maydell, a member of the European Parliament and vice chair of the Delegation on Japan Relations, to speak on recent developments between Europe and the Indo-Pacific as well as the future of the relationship. Following her remarks, Hudson Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein will moderate a question and answer session.
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.
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