Hudson Institute Events Podcast

On Thursday, November 20th, Hudson Institute hosted a conversation with Dr. Ayesha Jalal about her new book The Struggle for Pakistan: Muslim Homeland and Global Politics. The discussion was moderated by Ambassador Husain Haqqani, Hudson Institute Director for South and Central Asia and former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States.

Given what is known about the status of Iran's nuclear program and the concessions already made to Iran, how will any prospective agreement affect American interests and our allies in the Middle East? Will it, as President Obama has suggested, spur a new beneficial geopolitical equilibrium balancing traditional allies, like Israel and Saudi Arabia, against a longtime adversary? Or would an agreement likely empower an expansionist Iranian regime and further destabilize one of the world's most volatile regions?

Hudson Institute hosted a discussion with Professor T.V. Paul, author of The Warrior State: Pakistan in the Contemporary World. Professor Aqil Shah, author of The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan, was unable to join the discussion due to illness. Professor T.V. Paul and Ambassador Husain Haqqani assessed the current scenario unfolding on the Indian subcontinent.

Professor Inbar analyzed the strategic implications of increased Russian presence and Turkish activism in the Mediterranean, growing terrorist movements in the Middle East, burgeoning regional conflict over energy, and the emergence of a Cypriot-Greek-Israeli security partnership. Seth Cropsey, Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for American Seapower, moderated the subsequent discussion.

The Middle East is undergoing profound transformations. As borders shift, alliances form and dissolve, and Iran pursues its nuclear program, policymakers must look beyond the final two years of the Obama administration. Shmuel Bar, Michael Doran, Hillel Fradkin, and Lee Smith explore U.S. policy in the Middle East with respect to future regional strategy.

We commissioned the first thoroughgoing historical monograph on this topic from Benjamin Soskis, a Fellow at George Mason's Center for Nonprofit Management, Philanthropy and Policy. To discuss this major addition to the scholarship on philanthropy and civil society, we assembled a distinguished panel, including Case Western Reserve Professor David Hammack, Patty Stonesifer, formerly of the Gates Foundation, and Scott Walter of the Capital Research Center. Hudson Institute Senior Fellow William Schambra moderated.

Can the administration now make good its mistakes and repair the damage? Will a strategy limited to coalition aerial bombardment and ancillary assistance to local fighters be sufficient to "degrade and destroy" ISIS, or are the U.S. military officials and regional allies who argue that ground troops will be required correct? In either case, to what extent are longstanding, region-wide issues - like the anti-Sunni policies pushed by Iranian assets in Iraq and Syria - a fundamental obstacle to complete success against ISIS? To address these and other directly related questions of Middle East strategy and diplomacy, Hudson Institute hosted a timely discussion on October 17 with Lee Smith, Andrew J. Tabler, Michael Pregent, and Hussain Abdul-Hussain.

Network neutrality regulation, currently under consideration by the Federal Communications Commission, could have substantial economic effects on the Internet and investment in Internet infrastructure.On October 1st, Hudson Institute's Center for the Economics of the Internet welcomed Professor Tom Hazlett of Clemson University to discuss the potential impact of network neutrality regulation. Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Hudson Institute senior fellow and director of the Center for the Economics of the Internet, moderated the discussion.

What are Putin's aims? What do these actions portend for the state of U.S. nuclear deterrence, arms control treaties, and the nuclear-free movement which President Barack Obama, among others, has championed? How should the U.S., NATO and Ukraine respond? Hudson Institute fellows Andrei Piontkovsky and William Schneider, Jr. and Roland Freudenstein, Deputy Director and Head of Research at the Wilfred Martens Centre for European Studies, discuss the ominous implications of Putin's actions. Hudson Institute President and CEO Kenneth Weinstein moderated the panel.

Hudson Institute and Public Citizen presented the recent results of a bipartisan poll asking voters across the country what their opinions are on clearer rules for political activity and the relationship between changing IRS rules and free speech. Pollsters Celinda Lake, of Lake Research Partners, a Democratic polling firm, and Robert Carpenter, of Chesapeake Beach Consulting, a Republican polling firm, presented the poll results. Also joining the panel was John Tyler, General Counsel for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, a leading foundation focused on education and entrepreneurship, and Lisa Gilbert, Director of Congress Watch at Public Citizen, a nonprofit that works to ensure all citizens have a voice in the nation's capital. Hudson Institute's William Schambra moderated the discussion.

On September 24th, Hudson Institute hosted a panel discussion on security, political, and economic relations between India and the United States. Moderated by Hudson Institute Director for South and Central Asia, Ambassador Husain Haqqani, the expert panel featured Bruce Riedel and Tanvi Madan of the Brookings Institution, Alyssa Ayres of the Council on Foreign Relations, Sadanand Dhume of the American Enterprise Institute, and Ambassador Pradeep Kapur.

Panel 2: When Sovereigns Violate the Rule of Law includes presentations by Otto Reich, Richard Samp, and Dennis Hranitzky

Panel 1: Short Term and Long Term Implications of Argentina's Default includes presentations by Nicol's Ducot�, Sebastian Saiegh, and Juan Carlos Hidalgo

Nina Shea, director of Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom, moderated a panel with escaped schoolgirl Saa and international human rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe to discuss the ongoing violence of Boko Haram.

Rep. Eshoo shared her thoughts on important issues facing America's technology economy in a conversation with former FCC Commissioner and Hudson Institute Visiting Fellow Robert McDowell.

Ambassador and Director of the Center of Latin American Studies Jaime Daremblum moderated a discussion with noted regional experts that examined the underlying social, economic, and political environment fueling gang activity in Central America.

Hudson Institute's Center for the Economics of the Internet hosted a seminar featuring Harold Furchtgott-Roth and Jeffrey Li to discuss the implications of their new report and what lessons policymakers should draw from the report's findings.

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Lee Smith hosted an expert panel featuring Faysal Itani, Salameh Nematt, and David Schenker for a discussion about the present state and future prospects of Jordan and its central role in American Middle East policy.

Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Lee Smith moderated an expert panel featuring Michael Doran, Hillel Fradkin, and Brian Katulis to discuss whether non-state Sunni extremism or Iran constitutes the major strategic threat to American interests in the region.

Arif Jamal joined Husain Haqqani, Hudson senior fellow and former Ambassador of Pakistan to the United States, to discuss Lashkar-e-Taiba and other radical Islamist groups in Pakistan.