The US in the South Caucasus: Mapping New Strategic Opportunities

Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East will host a conference, featuring a keynote address by Senator Steve Daines (R-MT), to examine the implications of the recent Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement. The conference will also explore the evolving role of the United States in the South Caucasus and assess how renewed peace efforts could reshape the Eurasian strategic landscape.

Southeastern Europe presents many opportunities to the transatlantic community, yet the region still poses numerous challenges. Adversaries have taken advantage of local divisions to cause security problems that could quickly escalate to strategic threats. The region also suffers from poor energy security, and many Southeastern European nations have stalled in their progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration. Concurrent with the World Bank–International Monetary Fund annual meetings in Washington, DC, Hudson will host a high-level discussion on Southeastern Europe. The first panel will explore the geoeconomic opportunities and challenges, while the second will examine the geopolitical and security dimensions of the region.

Hudson Institute’s Nadia Schadlow will host a conference on the future of America’s industrial base. The event will bring together representatives from new firms at the forefront of reindustrialization—companies working to address supply chain vulnerabilities, strengthen national security, and overcome institutional barriers. Company representatives will discuss their experiences, how their firms have navigated obstacles, and what changes the United States needs to make to fortify its manufacturing base. Additionally, investors and manufacturing sector experts will outline the most effective frameworks for attracting private capital and building sustainable public-private partnerships.

The China threat has become increasingly acute during President Donald Trump’s second term. While the White House and Congress navigate economic, security, and political relations with Beijing, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to undermine the security and sovereignty of the United States and other nations. By funding Russia’s war in Ukraine, bolstering Iran’s military capabilities, and deepening engagement with North Korea, the CCP seeks to increase its global influence and weaken the US and its allies. Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, will join Hudson Senior Fellow David Feith to discuss how Washington should approach the US-China relationship in an era of rising geopolitical competition.

The “no limits” partnership between China and Russia appears to be deepening. China’s provision of weapons components has served as a lifeline for the Kremlin in its war of aggression against Ukraine. Meanwhile, the two nations’ information warfare is increasingly aligned in its anti-American and anti-Western messaging. Yet there is an asymmetry between Beijing and Moscow. Join Hudson Institute for a panel discussion on how the United States and its allies can combat the rise of this authoritarian alliance.

Both Washington and Bucharest underwent leadership changes in 2025. Less than four months after President Donald Trump’s second inauguration, Romanians elected a new president, who soon formed a new government. Hudson will welcome a key member of this new Romanian administration, Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Oana-Silvia Țoiu. Foreign Minister Țoiu entered office amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the West. Russia has repeatedly violated North Atlantic Treaty Organization airspace, including a drone incursion into Romanian skies on September 14. And in late August, a Russian naval drone struck a Ukrainian vessel in the Danube River on the Romanian border. With Peter Rough, Foreign Minister Țoiu will discuss Black Sea security, the war in Ukraine, Russia’s hybrid attacks, and Romania-US relations.

The North Korean government continues to threaten the United States and global security. In particular, Kim Jong Un helps Russia with its invasion of Ukraine by supplying artillery shells, ballistic missiles, and troops. Meanwhile, the Kim regime is a menace to its own people. Washington can counter the threat from Pyongyang and prioritize North Korean human rights by supporting radio broadcasts and foreign media in the country, assisting escapees, and funding efforts to investigate human rights abuses. Such policies would both challenge the Kim regime and promote American interests abroad. Join Hudson Institute for a panel discussion on the connection between human rights in North Korea and US national security. Representative Young Kim (R-CA) will deliver a virtual keynote address.

After the Cold War, Western leaders embraced the illusion that globalization and the spread of democracy would lead to the outbreak of peace around the world. But just decades later, great powers are once again competing for territory, resources, and prestige. In his new book Great Power Diplomacy: The Skill of Statecraft from Attila the Hun to Kissinger, one of America’s foremost strategists, Wess Mitchell, argues that the United States needs to relearn how to build winning alliances, splinter enemy coalitions, and, when necessary, make peace with former adversaries. By looking to the great empires of the past, Mitchell argues, Washington can better prepare itself for a dangerous new era of great power competition. Join Hudson’s Peter Rough for a discussion with Wess Mitchell on the book’s findings, how they apply to the present moment, and the future of great power diplomacy.

To face the China challenge, the United States needs a better understanding of the Chinese Communist Party’s origins. How has the CCP maintained legitimacy and control while pursuing market reforms and private sector development? How has the party overcome geographic and historical challenges to maintain its centralized control over ideology? In Institutional Genes: The Origins of China’s Institutions and Totalitarianism, Professor Chenggang Xu argues that, unlike the Soviet Union, China has developed a system of regionally administered totalitarianism. Like other totalitarian regimes, the CCP’s system is inherently expansionist and positions China as not only a domestic oppressor but a global security threat. Join Dr. Miles Yu, senior fellow and director of Hudson’s China Center, for a conversation with Professor Xu on why misunderstanding China’s political order may create critical strategic risks for the US amid intensifying geopolitical rivalry.

This February, the United States Institute of Peace Senior Study Group on Strategic Stability released its 2025 report, Sustaining the Nuclear Peace. The study concludes that Russia and China have developed new ways of war built on a belief in the utility of nuclear weapons for broad purposes that encompass not just deterrence but also coercion and defeat. Further, the report concludes that a new axis is emerging. The US no longer faces a China problem and a separate Russia problem. Any crisis or conflict involving one adversary will likely involve the other, either directly or indirectly. And, because the United States has been slow to come to terms with this reality, the risk of nuclear use in war is increasing. Finally, the study recommends that policymakers urgently prioritize deterrence and prepare to enhance the United States’ ability to defend its vital interests and those of its allies if deterrence does fail. At Hudson, cochairs Dr. Brad Roberts and Dr. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, study group member Dr. Christopher Ford, and Scowcroft Group Principal Frank Miller will discuss the report and its recommendations.