

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Walter P. Stern Distinguished Fellow
Kenneth R. Weinstein is the Walter P. Stern distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute.
Director, Institute for the Analysis of Global Security
Senior Fellow and Director, Center for Political-Military Analysis
Richard Weitz is senior fellow and director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis at Hudson Institute.
Director of Global Programs, APCO Worldwide
Visiting Researcher, Center for Eurasia, Russian and Eastern European Studies (CERES), Georgetown University
Advisor to the European Energy Security Initiative (EESI), Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars
Research Director, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Study Program
Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy, Heritage Foundation
Resident Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Michael Rubin is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Senior Transatlantic Fellow, GMF
Vice President, American Foreign Policy Council
Ilan Berman is vice president of the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC).
Former chair, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia
While Iran is using home-grown Shia Islamists to undermine the secular nature of Azerbaijan, the growing influence of Salafi groups in the North Caucasus is now spilling into neighboring countries. At the same time, poorly designed and inadequately executed responses by various governments have contributed to this increase in extremism.
Given this situation, how can South Caucasian governments and the international community prevent the spread of radicalism and promote traditions of tolerant Islam that allow co-existence and cooperation among Christians, Jews, and Sunni and Shia Muslims? What is the U.S. security strategy and vision for the Caucasus region? What is Iran's strategy in the South Caucasus and to what extent should the region shape U.S.-Iran relations?
These questions are especially timely as the U.S. continues its withdrawal from Afghanistan, instability mounts in North Africa and the Middle East, and Tehran continues to reject international calls for a halt to its enrichment activities. Such turmoil also underscores the importance of strong and stable American allies in a region, the South Caucasus, of increasing importance to U.S. interests.
Hudson's October 10, 2013 conference on The Rise of Radical Islamism in the South Caucuses featured two panels of distinguished experts, the first moderated by Richard Weitz, Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Political-Military Analysis, and the second moderated by Ariel Cohen, Senior Research Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies and International Energy Policy at the Heritage Foundation.
Please join Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Keystone Defense Initiative Rebeccah Heinrichs for a conversation with Senators Risch and Wicker on US support for Ukraine’s defense on Wednesday, March 29, at 4:00 p.m. A reception will follow.
Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis and Executive Director of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute Robert Greenway, moderated by Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Director Michael Doran.
Please join Hudson Institute to discuss what has gone wrong with US policy toward Venezuela and how the Biden administration and 118th Congress can reinvigorate efforts to support democracy so that all Venezuelans can have a brighter future.