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
heinrichs event
Caption
President Ronald Reagan giving a speech on SDI (Wikimedia Commons)
20
March 2023
Past Event
Speakers:
heinrichs
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs

Senior Fellow and Director, Keystone Defense Initiative

inboden
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.

Related Events
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Driving US Investment in Latin America
Featured Speakers:
Rob Mosbacher Jr.
Laura Burns
Erick Brimen
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
Getty Images
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Driving US Investment in Latin America

Join Hudson for a panel that will examine some of the tools that could help revitalize US investment in the region, including development finance, political risk insurance, and economic innovation zones.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Rob Mosbacher Jr.
Laura Burns
Erick Brimen
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
European Economic Security in an Age of Renewed Competition
Featured Speakers:
Ruslan Stefanov
Martin Vladimirov
Isaac Levi
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
Getty Images
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
European Economic Security in an Age of Renewed Competition

Join Senior Fellow Matt Boyse for this discussion with Martin Vladimirov, director of the Energy and Climate Program at CSD, and Isaac Levi, Europe-Russia policy and energy analysis team lead at CREA. CSD Program Director Ruslan Stefanov will provide opening remarks.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Ruslan Stefanov
Martin Vladimirov
Isaac Levi
Moderator:
Matthew Boyse
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Motwani Jadeja US-India Dialogue Series | Strategic Technology and the US-India Relationship
Featured Speakers:
Lisa Curtis
Lindsey Ford
Jeffrey Bean
Daniel Markey
Moderator:
Aparna Pande
Getty Images
15
May 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Motwani Jadeja US-India Dialogue Series | Strategic Technology and the US-India Relationship

Hudson will host an expert panel to discuss how increased technology collaboration will benefit the US and India and why these agreements could help both nations expand their partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. 

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Lisa Curtis
Lindsey Ford
Jeffrey Bean
Daniel Markey
Moderator:
Aparna Pande
14
May 2025
Past Event
Patents and China: What Is the Right Policy for the America First Agenda?
Featured Speakers:
The Honorable Andrei Iancu
Mark Cohen
Kirti Gupta
Moderator:
Adam Mossoff
Getty Images
14
May 2025
Past Event
Patents and China: What Is the Right Policy for the America First Agenda?

Join Hudson for an expert panel on how reliable and effective patent rights are the key to the America First agenda: growing the US innovation economy, creating jobs, and responding to challenges from global competitors like China.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
The Honorable Andrei Iancu
Mark Cohen
Kirti Gupta
Moderator:
Adam Mossoff