Forty Years after President Reagan Unveiled the Strategic Defense Initiative

March 2023

Past Event

Forty Years after President Reagan Unveiled the Strategic Defense Initiative

Past Event

Online Only

March 20, 2023

President Ronald Reagan giving a speech on SDI (Wikimedia Commons)

March 2023

Past Event

Speakers:

Will Inboden

Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair, Clements Center for National Security at the University of Texas

Listen to Event Audio

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.

July 2025

Virtual Event | Online Only

Strategic Realignments: The Middle East After the Israel-Iran Conflict

Featured Speakers:

Dan Diker

David Wurmser

Michael Doran

Moderator:

Zineb Riboua

July 2025

Virtual Event | Online Only

Strategic Realignments: The Middle East After the Israel-Iran Conflict

Experts will examine how Israel’s decision to act independently has impacted its relationship with the United States, what the war’s outcome signals for Iran’s regional ambitions, and how key players like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Syria are recalibrating in its aftermath.

Featured Speakers:

Dan Diker

David Wurmser

Michael Doran

Moderator:

Zineb Riboua

Learn More

July 2025

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Postponed | Bridging the Valley of Death: Using Experimentation to Solve Operational Problems

Featured Speakers:

Joy Shanaberger

Dan Ermer

Capt. Raymond G. Stromberger

Gary Western

David Schmolke

Yi Chao

Rick Berger

Gina Pizziconi

Alex Lovett

Dan Edwards

Moderators:

Dan Lamothe

Bryan Clark

Dan Patt

July 2025

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Postponed | Bridging the Valley of Death: Using Experimentation to Solve Operational Problems

Please join Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Bryan Clark, US defense officials, and industry leaders for an event highlighting the DoD’s recent accomplishments in translating concept to capability through experimentation in support of the nation’s most urgent military challenges.

Featured Speakers:

Joy Shanaberger

Dan Ermer

Capt. Raymond G. Stromberger

Gary Western

David Schmolke

Yi Chao

Rick Berger

Gina Pizziconi

Alex Lovett

Dan Edwards

Moderators:

Dan Lamothe

Bryan Clark

Dan Patt

Learn More

July 2025

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

David Petraeus on What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine’s Battlefield Experience

Featured Speakers:

Kenneth R. Weinstein

General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.)

Moderator:

Jason Hsu

July 2025

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

David Petraeus on What Taiwan Can Learn from Ukraine’s Battlefield Experience

General David H. Petraeus (US Army, ret.) will join Hudson’s Jason Hsu for a conversation about what the war in Ukraine has revealed about the future of warfare—and what these lessons mean for Taiwanese security.

Featured Speakers:

Kenneth R. Weinstein

General David H. Petraeus (US Army, Ret.)

Moderator:

Jason Hsu

Learn More

July 2025

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Other Approaches to the US-Canada Trade Impasse

Featured Speakers:

Hon. Ed Fast

Jamie Tronnes

Moderator:

Matthew Boyse

July 2025

In-Person Event | Hudson Institute

Other Approaches to the US-Canada Trade Impasse

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for a discussion with former Canadian Minister for Trade and Economic Development Ed Fast, and CNAPS Executive Director Jamie Tronnes, as they explore a new path forward for US-Canada relations and what other allies can learn from the process.