Past Events

Events | Dec. 14, 2023

Roundtable Discussion with the with the Republic of Korea

On December 14, 2023, NDU’s Institute for National Strategic Studies hosted a roundtable discussion with the Republic of Korea.

Israel-Hamas War: A Regional Security Discussion

The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) at the National Defense University hosted a regional security discussion on the Israel-Hamas War with Dr. Edward Luttwak. Dr. Luttwak discussed the current crisis in the Middle East and the New

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | March 29, 2022

The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict Between the US...

While China has emerged as an economic superpower in the 21st century it has disappointed the expectations of some that it would become a ‘responsible stakeholder’ in the global, rules-based system. Under President Xi Jinping China has undergone an

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | March 9, 2022

War: How Conflict Shaped Us

War has always been a force for change between countries and within society. The relationship between society and war is cyclical as war influences the language people use, how places are named, and encourages social changes. Despite being a mostly

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | March 2, 2022

Defense Strategy and a Strategy of Denial?

U.S. grand strategy for contesting China’s aggression must be redefined. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, U.S. defense policy has lacked focus. Elbridge Colby argues that U.S. defense policy should have three main areas of focus:

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Feb. 16, 2022

Responding to China: The Case For Global Justice and Democratic Socialism

Western countries are still struggling to define their attitude towards the Beijing regime. In this talk, Thomas Piketty argued Western countries may find it difficult to meet the Chinese challenge if they stick to their usual lecturing posture and

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Feb. 2, 2022

How can the Department of Defense catch up with the CCP within 6 months?

In a session on February 2, 2022, Nicolas M. Chaillan discussed how the Department of Defense can catch up with China. Nicholas M. Chaillan served as the first U.S. Air Force and Space Force Chief Software Officer. The event ran from 1200-1300 on

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Nov. 10, 2021

The Empire Versus the Federation

The China challenge has impact far beyond the United States. Australia—a member of the Five Eyes coalition and a stout ally of the United States—stood against Chinese trade, intellectual property, and human rights abuses. Australia led the global

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Oct. 19, 2021

AI Will Change War

Artificial Intelligence (AI) could lead to “Hyperwar”—a type of conflict and competition so automated that it would collapse the decision action loop, eventually minimizing human control over most decisions. America’s challenge is to encourage the

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Oct. 7, 2021

Competing Visions of World Order

When Samuel Huntington described the “clash of civilizations” in 1993, he was criticized for reinforcing a self-fulfilling prophecy. Today we face a tectonic global clash, but not necessarily of the type Huntington foresaw; clashing are two

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Sept. 7, 2021

Did Globalization Go Too Far?

As the economic competition between the United States and China intensifies companies find themselves caught in the crossfire. Western companies hesitate to offend China and possibly lose access to China’s “super-large market.” Milton Friedman argues

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Aug. 31, 2021

National Security In A Digital World

The digital revolution of recent decades has transformed nearly all facets of life—not least the national security environment. The volume and mass transmission of digitized information has pushed the velocity of decision-making to the limits of

Events | July 27, 2021

Party-Army Relations in China: Is Another 100 Years Possible?

On July 15, the Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs hosted a webinar on party-army relations in China featuring three leading experts: Dr. Chen Yali (Hunter College), Dr. Andrew Scobell (U.S. Institute of Peace), and Dr. Joel Wuthnow

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | July 14, 2021

The Three-Body Problem; The U.S., China, and Russia

The Cold War was the first time in over a century that the United States faced a truly existential threat, the threat of all-out, strategic, nuclear war. The strategic response designed to avoid such a catastrophe was mutual assured destruction, a

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | June 22, 2021

How to Engage with China

Although consensus appears to have been reached in the United States on the adversarial nature of our relationship with China, opinions on how to engage—or disengage—with China are diverse. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the U.S. – China

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | May 27, 2021

A New Approach to Industrial Policy?

The concept of industrial policy has been neuralgic in the United States for quite some time. In recent years economic orthodoxy has argued that "the market" is the best mechanism to spur innovation. Our strategic competitors use state subsidies,

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | May 19, 2021

Their Silent Intentions

The United States and its allies have recently come under relentless attacks in cyber space. While some of these attacks have been relatively harmless, some have been seriously consequential, and their potential to harm U.S. national security

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | May 18, 2021

The United States, China, and Russia: An Innovation Net Assessment

U.S. strategy for global competition and cooperation in innovation cannot be charted without considering innovation in China and Russia, as well as the relationships between these three actors. Here, we bring together world-leading experts to examine

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | April 23, 2021

What Does China Want?

Despite bipartisan consensus on China’s threat to US national security interests, different views persist on how to meet the challenge of contemporary great power competition and China’s view of the future world order. LTG (Ret.) H. R. McMaster will

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | April 20, 2021

Innovation Amongst Allies Now-Greater Than The Sum of The Parts

Allies and international networks are central to innovation, but even amongst the most established alliances, effective collaboration requires understanding that each partner has distinct—as well as shared—national interests and perspectives. This

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | April 8, 2021

Geoeconomics Revisited

The national security community primarily looks at great power competition with China through a military lens. The greater threat to US interests and influence, however, is arguably economic in nature. China’s growing economic influence threatens to

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | March 24, 2021

Rector Federica Mogherini Reprise

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a special one-hour session on March 24, 2021, with Rector Federica Mogherini (College of Europe; Former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | March 17, 2021

The Role of Europe in the New Great Power Competition

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a speaker session on March 17, 2021, presented by Rector Federica Mogherini (College of Europe; Former High Representative of the European Union for Foreign

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Feb. 24, 2021

Innovating for National Security

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a speaker session on February 24, 2021, presented by Mr. Michael Brown (Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)), as a part of its SMA NDU/PRISM Innovation Series. 

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Feb. 18, 2021

The United States, China, and Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War

On February 18, 2021, this discussion led by James Schmeling, President and CEO, explores and explains why Taiwan is emerging as a potential flashpoint for a war that could include US intervention. Featuring AMB. Robert Blackwill & Professor Philip

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Feb. 17, 2021

Geoeconomics and Great Power Competition

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a speaker session on February 17, 2021, presented by General (Ret.) David Petraeus, as a part of its SMA INSS/PRISM Speaker Series.

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Jan. 12, 2021

Economics, Diplomacy, and Great Power Competition

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a speaker session on January 12, 2021, presented by Hon. Robert Zoellick (Former World Bank President; US Trade Representative; and Deputy Secretary,

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Nov. 18, 2020

American Businesses and Great Power Competition

On November 18, 2020, the US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a speaker session as a part of its SMA INDOPACOM/AFRICOM Speaker Series. The speaker was GEN (Ret.) Joseph Votel (Former Commander, USSOCOM

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Oct. 15, 2020

America and the World: A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a conversation on October 15, 2020 as a part of its SMA INSS/PRISM Speaker Series, featuring Honorable Robert Zoellick and moderator General (Ret.) David

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Sept. 23, 2020

Geoeconomics and the Emerging World Order: The Power of the U.S. Dollar

The US Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program hosted a speaker session on September 23, 2020 as a part of its SMA INSS/PRISM Speaker Series, entitled “Geoeconomics and the Emerging World Order: The Power of the U.S.

INSS/PRISM Speaker Series | Aug. 19, 2020

GeoEconomics and the Emerging World Order

Held on August 19, 2020, this lecture and discussion featured Dr. Joseph E. Stiglitz, University Professor at Columbia University. Dr. Stiglitz is winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics (2001) and in 2011 was named by Time magazine as one of the 100

The Geo-Economic Dimension of Great Power Competition

This faculty seminar was held on Wednesday, May 6, 2020 and focused on the fundamentals of geo-economics and the drivers or dimensions of geo-economic competition. This seminar features two distinguished subject matter experts on China and