Caption
A see-off ceremony for newly recruited soldiers is held on September 16, 2025, in Fuyang, China. (Getty Images)
20
March 2023
Past Event
Forty Years after President Reagan Unveiled the Strategic Defense Initiative
Forty Years after President Reagan Unveiled the Strategic Defense Initiative
Past Event
Online Only
March 20, 2023
Share:
Caption
President Ronald Reagan giving a speech on SDI (Wikimedia Commons)
20
March 2023
Past Event
Speakers:
Forty years ago, on March 23, 1983, President Ronald Reagan addressed the American people to unveil “a vision of the future which offers hope,” namely, a program to counter the Soviet missile threat through defensive measures. Thus, the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), the missile defense system that ultimately helped the United States prevail over the Soviet Union, was born. SDI was born from Reagan’s disdain for mutual assured destruction, and to instead encourage advances in defenses.
Hudson Senior Fellow and Keystone Defense Initiative Director Rebeccah Heinrichs is joined by Will Inboden to discuss his new book, The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink. They will also reflect on President Reagan’s visionary leadership for SDI as well as lessons for today’s major powers rivalry with the Chinese Communist Party.
Related Events
03
November 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Understanding the Strategic Surprise of October 7
Featured Speaker:
Itai Brun
Moderator:
Michael Doran
03
November 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Understanding the Strategic Surprise of October 7
Brigadier General (Res.) Itai Brun will join Senior Fellow Dr. Michael Doran to examine the strategic, organizational, and analytical factors that enabled Hamas’s October 7 surprise attack.
Featured Speaker:
Itai Brun
Moderator:
Michael Doran
03
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Congressman Rich McCormick on Securing American AI Leadership
Featured Speakers:
Congressman Rich McCormick
Jason Hsu
03
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Congressman Rich McCormick on Securing American AI Leadership
Senior Fellow Jason Hsu will host Congressman Rich McCormick (R-GA), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee and a former member of the bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, for a conversation on securing American AI leadership.
Featured Speakers:
Congressman Rich McCormick
Jason Hsu
04
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Bad Money: How America Can Solve Perpetual Inflation
Featured Speakers:
Brendan Brown
Alex J. Pollock
Moderator:
Harold Furchtgott-Roth
04
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Bad Money: How America Can Solve Perpetual Inflation
At Hudson, Senior Fellows Brendan Brown and Harold Furchtgott-Roth and Mises Institute Senior Fellow Alex Pollock will discuss the book’s findings and how gold-based monetary reform combined with the increased use of modern analytical tools can help end the inflationary spiral.
Featured Speakers:
Brendan Brown
Alex J. Pollock
Moderator:
Harold Furchtgott-Roth
05
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Limits of Autonomy: How Beijing Exploits Hong Kong’s Special Status
Featured Speakers:
Thomas Benson
Joey Siu
John Dotson
Thomas Kellogg
Moderator:
Michael Sobolik
05
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
The Limits of Autonomy: How Beijing Exploits Hong Kong’s Special Status
Join Senior Fellow Michael Sobolik and an expert panel for a discussion about a new report from Hong Kong Watch on the state of Hong Kong and how US policymakers can close the loopholes Beijing exploits.
Featured Speakers:
Thomas Benson
Joey Siu
John Dotson
Thomas Kellogg
Moderator:
Michael Sobolik
Related Research
Caption
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to workers during a visit to BAE Systems in Warton, Preston, on October 28, 2025. (Getty Images)
Caption
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sign documents confirming the sale of Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine in Linkoping, Sweden, on October 22, 2025.
Caption
An aerial view shows the destroyed areas of Pokrovsk, Ukraine, following months of intense fighting near the front line, on October 7, 2025. (Getty Images)