Authoritarians in the Academy: How Adversaries Infiltrate Higher Education to Threaten Free Speech and National Security

In an increasingly dangerous geopolitical environment, a bipartisan consensus has emerged that the United States needs to reindustrialize. This is a welcome realization, but it raises a major question: What institutions and tools can Washington use to ensure that America can produce components, weapons, and equipment quickly and at scale? To incentivize growth in the defense industrial sector, the Department of War has created the Office of Strategic Capital and begun to identify useful authorities related to the Defense Production Act. It is also exploring other financial tools and modalities that could help restore US industrial independence. Join Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow and an expert panel for a discussion on the DoW’s financial tools, the extent of the department’s authorities, and the role it will play in the broader American reindustrialization effort.

Since joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization alongside Lithuania and Estonia over 20 years ago, Latvia has been a key part of the alliance’s Baltic Sea posture. Riga continues to invest heavily in security, expanding the size of its armed forces, procuring key capabilities like American-made High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), and building out a Baltic defense line alongside Estonia and Lithuania. Bordering the Baltic Sea, Russia, and Belarus, Latvia’s geographical importance is obvious. Additionally, Latvia has been a strong supporter of Ukraine in its war for survival. Since 2022, the country’s contributions to Ukraine are the fourth largest relative to gross domestic product. And Latvia will join the United Nations Security Council in January 2026 before taking on the UNSC’s rotational presidency in November. To discuss the future of Latvian foreign policy, Peter Rough will welcome Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Baiba Braže back to Hudson for a fireside chat.

Institutions of higher education in the United States have long benefitted from free and open collaboration with overseas partners. But foreign adversaries like China have exploited this openness to infiltrate American colleges and universities with programs like Confucius Institutes and Chinese Student-Scholars Associations. Beijing also uses generous financial contributions to infuse its propaganda and interests into American campuses. By exploiting America’s education system, the Chinese Communist Party is attacking core American values like free speech and imperiling US national security. Join Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik for a conversation with Sarah McLaughlin, a senior scholar at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, about her recent book on this subject, Authoritarians in the Academy.

Russia’s war against Ukraine and Moscow’s constant meddling in Moldova’s internal affairs have only galvanized the Moldovan people’s commitment to a Euro-Atlantic path. In the country’s October elections, Moldovans reaffirmed this Western trajectory. Despite Russian interference, Moldova conducted free and fair elections, resulting in the formation of a pro-European government. Since formally beginning European Union accession talks in December 2023, Moldova has made significant progress toward full membership. Notably, the country has become an important component of the European security landscape amid Russia’s ongoing war. Meanwhile, relations between the United States and Moldova have deepened in recent years. But much work remains. Hudson’s Luke Coffey will host Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mihai Popșoi, Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament Igor Grosu, and Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Associate Leah Kieff to examine the political, security, and geopolitical situation in Moldova and identify next steps.

China’s tightening grip over critical mineral supply chains has long posed strategic risks to the United States. But Beijing’s expanding control over pharmaceutical ingredients may prove even more dangerous. In recent years, Chinese exporters have quietly pumped unregulated and frequently counterfeit active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into America, exploiting gaps in US law and Washington’s sluggish implementation of drug-tracking requirements. These schemes—often involving mislabeled packages and gray-market distributors—have already resulted in hospitalizations and deaths, revealing how China’s leverage over essential medical inputs directly threatens Americans’ health and safety. As with minerals and manufacturing, the Chinese Communist Party is increasingly using its control over APIs to undermine US interests. Policymakers should move quickly to strengthen oversight, close loopholes in the pharmaceutical supply chain, and shift critical API production back to trusted domestic sources. To discuss how America can restore its sovereignty in pharmaceuticals, Michael Sobolik will host Former US Representative Ted Yoho and an expert panel.

Hudson Institute’s Michael Doran will have a discussion with Caroline Glick, international affairs advisor to the prime minister of Israel, about Israel’s position in global affairs, regional developments, and the international challenges shaping the country’s strategic environment.

Palantir Cofounder and CEO Dr. Alex Karp and Hudson Trustee Shyam Sankar, Palantir’s chief technology officer, deliver remarks at Hudson Institute’s 2025 gala, at which Dr. Karp received the Herman Kahn Award.

Art can be valuable, highly portable, and difficult to trace—making it an ideal vehicle for concealing illicit wealth. The United States hosts the world’s largest and most dynamic art market, with tens of billions of dollars of sales taking place each year. But high-end art dealers’ associations with private wealth and their commitment to customer discretion have made the sector a magnet for money laundering and sanctions evasion. Drug cartels, Hezbollah financiers, and Russian oligarchs have all been caught exploiting the US art trade in recent years. Meanwhile, China’s emergence as a major art market has introduced new vectors of transnational crime and corruption. Yet the US art market remains largely exempt from anti–money laundering regulations—a loophole that a bipartisan group of legislators now seeks to close. Join Hudson Institute for an expert discussion on how policymakers, law enforcement, and the art industry can safeguard art markets from exploitation by bad actors and crack down on illicit finance.

The creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in World War II, the professionalization of American intelligence during the Cold War, and the networking of intelligence after 9/11 each ushered in a revolution in national intelligence operations. Now, the United States’ geopolitical rivalry with China and the rise of artificial intelligence have sparked a fourth revolution. In his new book, The Fourth Intelligence Revolution: The Future of Espionage and the Battle to Save America, former senior intelligence officer Anthony Vinci explains why intelligence is permeating fields from economics to science and technology, AI’s expanding role, and how authoritarian adversaries target Americans through data collection and information operations. Ultimately, Vinci argues, it is only through democratizing intelligence that America can overcome these threats. Join Hudson Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow for a wide ranging discussion with Vinci on the book’s findings and the future of intelligence operations.

Palantir Cofounder and CEO Dr. Alex Karp and Hudson Trustee Shyam Sankar, Palantir’s chief technology officer, deliver remarks at Hudson Institute’s 2025 gala, at which Dr. Karp received the Herman Kahn Award.