Aaron MacLean

Former Senior Fellow

Aaron Maclean Hudson

At A Glance:

Aaron MacLean was a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and is the host of the School of War podcast.

Biography

Aaron MacLean was a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and is the host of the School of War podcast.

Previously, Mr. MacLean was senior foreign policy advisor and legislative director to Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR). He served on active duty as a United States Marine for seven years, deploying to Afghanistan as an infantry officer in 2009–10. Following his time in the operating forces, he was assigned to the faculty of the US Naval Academy, where he was the 2013 recipient of the Apgar Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Mr. MacLean received a BA in philosophy and the history of math and science from St. John’s College, Annapolis, and an MPhil (Dist.) in medieval Arabic thought from the University of Oxford. He has been a Boren scholar and a Marshall scholar and lives in Virginia, where he was born.

Events
12
December 2025
Past Event
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat
Featured Speakers:
Cole Bunzel
Sebastian Gorka
Adam Hadley
Derek Harvey
Ludovic Hood
Scott Jennings
Ambassador (ret.) Deborah E. Lipstadt, PhD
Park MacDougald
Congressman Brian Mast
Walter Russell Mead
Zineb Riboua
Judd Rosenblatt
Joel Scanlon
Michael Sobolik
Matt Spalding
John P. Walters
Moderators:
Michael Doran
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Liel Leibovitz
Aaron MacLean
Getty Images
12
December 2025
Past Event
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat

Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East will convene policymakers, experts, and private sector leaders to examine how antisemitism, both foreign and domestic, threatens American security and Western civilization.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Cole Bunzel
Sebastian Gorka
Adam Hadley
Derek Harvey
Ludovic Hood
Scott Jennings
Ambassador (ret.) Deborah E. Lipstadt, PhD
Park MacDougald
Congressman Brian Mast
Walter Russell Mead
Zineb Riboua
Judd Rosenblatt
Joel Scanlon
Michael Sobolik
Matt Spalding
John P. Walters
Moderators:
Michael Doran
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Liel Leibovitz
Aaron MacLean
22
May 2025
Past Event
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Congressman Kevin Hern
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Jonathan Hessen
Joel Scanlon
Jason Hsu
Dan Blumenthal
Michael Sobolik
Garrett Exner
Ilan Berman
Mike Watson
Moderators:
Liel Leibovitz
Zineb Riboua
Ethan Gutman
Adhwaa Alsaleh
Daniel Samet
(US-China Rivalry in the Middle East logo)
22
May 2025
Past Event
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference

Former policymakers and leading national security experts will join Hudson to assess how China’s growing influence is reshaping the regional order—and how the US should respond.

(US-China Rivalry in the Middle East logo)
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Congressman Kevin Hern
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Jonathan Hessen
Joel Scanlon
Jason Hsu
Dan Blumenthal
Michael Sobolik
Garrett Exner
Ilan Berman
Mike Watson
Moderators:
Liel Leibovitz
Zineb Riboua
Ethan Gutman
Adhwaa Alsaleh
Daniel Samet
17
June 2024
Past Event
Deterring China through Nonmilitary Costs
Featured Speakers:
John Lee
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Aaron MacLean
Members of the Peoples Liberation Army flag honor guard march in Tiananmen Square on March 11, 2024, in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
17
June 2024
Past Event
Deterring China through Nonmilitary Costs

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Aaron MacLean, Tom Duesterberg, Bryan Clark, and John Lee as they discuss Dr. Lee’s latest report, cowritten with Lavina Lee.

Members of the Peoples Liberation Army flag honor guard march in Tiananmen Square on March 11, 2024, in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
John Lee
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Aaron MacLean
16 - 19
November 2023
Past Event
On War: Thucydides and Current Strategic Dilemmas | Policy Certificate Program
Featured Speakers:
Aaron MacLean
Walter Russell Mead
Rachel Mackey
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16 - 19
November 2023
Past Event
On War: Thucydides and Current Strategic Dilemmas | Policy Certificate Program

The Hudson Institute Political Studies Policy Certificate Program gathers talented early and mid-career professionals for advanced study of public policy and national security led by policy experts and experienced government officials.

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Featured Speakers:
Aaron MacLean
Walter Russell Mead
Rachel Mackey
A worker produces wear-resistant rings for export to European and American markets in a workshop on October 14, 2024, in Binzhou City, China. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Caption
A worker produces wear-resistant rings for export to European and American markets in a workshop on October 14, 2024, in Binzhou City, China. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron MacLean
Former Senior Fellow
Aaron MacLean
Podcast
North Korean military officers march during a welcoming ceremony, on June 19, 2024, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Russian President Vladimir Putin is in North Korea for a two-day visit. (Photo by Contributor/Getty Images)
Caption
North Korean military officers march during a welcoming ceremony, on June 19, 2024, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Getty Images)
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron MacLean
Former Senior Fellow
Aaron MacLean
Podcast
Russian infantry in the trenches during their battle against the Austro-Hungarian army on the eastern front in World War I in August 1914. (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
Caption
Russian infantry in the trenches during their battle against the Austro-Hungarian army on the eastern front in World War I in August 1914. (Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron MacLean
Former Senior Fellow
Aaron MacLean
Podcast
An Iranian flag waves on a beach in Bushehr, Iran, home to Iran's first nuclear seaport, on April 28, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Caption
An Iranian flag waves on a beach in Bushehr, Iran, home to Iran's first nuclear seaport, on April 28, 2024. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron MacLean
Former Senior Fellow
Aaron MacLean
Commentary
6 Min Read
Israeli soldiers secure an area near the northern Gaza Strip on December 15, 2023. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Caption
Israeli soldiers secure an area near the northern Gaza Strip on December 15, 2023. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
michael_doran
michael_doran
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron MacLean
Former Senior Fellow
Michael Doran & Aaron MacLean
Podcast
Firefighters push out a fire as police experts look for fragments of missile at a crater on an industrial area of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after a massive overnight missile attack to Ukraine on September 21, 2023. (Sergei Supinkey/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption
Firefighters push out a fire as police experts look for fragments of missile at a crater on an industrial area of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, after a massive overnight missile attack to Ukraine on September 21, 2023. (Sergei Supinkey/AFP via Getty Images)
mike_pompeo
mike_pompeo
Michael R. Pompeo
Former Distinguished Fellow
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron Maclean Hudson
Aaron MacLean
Former Senior Fellow
Michael R. Pompeo & Aaron MacLean
Commentary
4 Min Read