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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.
Space-based critical infrastructure is emerging as a vital area for national security. Join Hudson Senior Fellows Arthur Herman and Peter Huessy for a discussion on dual-use technologies, America’s industrial base, and the emerging role of commercial industry in space security. The panel will include Even Rogers, CEO of True Anomaly; Col. (ret.) Dean Bellamy, Executive Vice President, National Security Space, Redwire; Chris Shank, Vice President of Defense and Space Programs, Maxar; and Jason Kim, a senior policy analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
To defend Ukraine against Russia and deter China from invading Taiwan, the United States needs to rapidly increase weapons production and enhance its arms. Tapping American innovation and rebuilding the US defense industrial base will be crucial. The mobilization effort during World War II offers a range of lessons for policymakers today on how to stimulate innovation, collaboration, and growth to rebuild the “arsenal of democracy.”
Senior Fellow and Director of the China Center Miles Yu will introduce this session. Distinguished Fellow Lewis Libby will moderate a panel with three leading historians on this topic: Professor Larrie D. Ferreiro, Professor Mark Wilson, and Hudson Senior Fellow Arthur Herman.
About the Speakers
Lewis Libby is a distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute. He served as chief of staff and national security advisor for Vice President Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005 and principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy from 1989 to 1993.
Larrie D. Ferreiro is a naval architect, historian, and author of Churchill’s American Arsenal: The Partnership Behind the Innovations That Won World War II. His book Brothers at Arms: American Independence and the Men of France and Spain Who Saved It was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for History. He teaches history and engineering at George Mason University in Virginia and the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
Mark Wilson is a professor of history at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and author of Destructive Creation: American Business and Winning of World II, winner of the Hagley Prize for best book in business history, and co-winner of the Ralph Gomory Prize, which honors historical work on the effects of business enterprises on the economic conditions of the countries in which they operate. He teaches courses on the history of democracy, capitalism, the US military, and the military-industrial complex.
Arthur Herman is a senior fellow and director of the Quantum Alliance Initiative at Hudson Institute. His research programs analyze defense, energy, and technology issues. Dr. Herman is the author of nine books, including Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II, How the Scots Invented the Modern World, and Pulitzer Prize finalist Gandhi and Churchill: The Epic Rivalry that Destroyed an Empire and Forged Our Age.
Aerial refueling, one of the United States military’s most important advantages, enables the US to dynamically project power across the globe. However, the advanced age of America’s tanker inventory and the growing strength of the People’s Republic of China place this advantage at risk. As the Air Force celebrates a century of aerial refueling, it is time to look to the future.
Building on the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology’s report Resilient Aerial Refueling: Safeguarding the US Military’s Global Reach, Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton will host a panel discussion on the history of aerial refueling, the role of Air Force and congressional leadership, and future opportunities to maintain America’s advantage.
Joining Walton will be Jeremiah Gertler, director of the Defense Concepts Organization, a senior associate with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Aerospace Security Project, and a senior analyst for the Teal Group; Jon Ludwigson, director of Contracting and National Security Acquisitions at the Government Accountability Office; and Lieutenant General Thomas Sharpy (USAF, Ret.), owner of the Sharpy Group.
As more commercial electronics utilize mobile computing and 5G technology begins to provide broadband internet everywhere, access to the electromagnetic spectrum can mean the difference between victory and defeat—on the battlefield or in business. The US military is using a new strategy for electromagnetic superiority, focused on maneuver and spectrum sharing, to create advantages and increase commercial access to a more congested and contested spectrum. But implementation of this strategy has been slow and uneven. The Pentagon has mainly invested in defensive systems for large, manned platforms, with spectrum agility and offensive capabilities a distant second.
Please join Hudson Senior Fellow Timothy A. Walton and Association of Old Crows President Brian Hinkley for a discussion on the US military’s efforts to achieve spectrum superiority with Representatives Don Bacon (R-NE), Rick Larsen (D-WA), and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA), the co-chairs of the Congressional Electromagnetic Warfare Working Group.
The Chinese Communist Party uses a variety of covert tactics to repress freedom of speech and religion on American soil. It targets Falun Gong, Uyghur Muslims, Chinese Christians, Tibetan Buddhists, and public critics of CCP policies—including American citizens. This is part of a criminal CCP program known as transnational repression, which has existed in the US for at least 20 years. The CCP's tactics include sanctions, physical assaults, cyberattacks, campus bullying and threats, disinformation campaigns, coerced repatriations, surveillance, and intimidation.
Join Hudson Center for Religious Freedom Director Nina Shea for a discussion on China’s transnational repression. She will be joined by Levi Browde, executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center; Olivia Enos, Washington director of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation; Ian Oxnevad, senior fellow for foreign affairs and security studies at the National Association of Scholars; and Ying Chen, conductor with Shen Yun Performing Arts.
Superiority in cyberspace and on the electromagnetic spectrum is central to modern combat. Control over these domains enables a military to isolate and blind its enemies and gain a potentially decisive advantage. The United States military has long been the most capable force in these operations. But u China is an improving and capable adversary, and Russia, Iran, and North Korea employ state-sponsored cyberattacks as a tool for gray-zone aggression. Retaining the US edge in information warfare demands sustained investment and creativity.
Join Hudson Senior Fellows Bryan Clark and Dan Patt for a discussion on the US Air Force’s plans to improve its cyberspace and spectrum superiority with Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs Lt. Gen. Richard
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