FDD Events Podcast

The Republic of Palau, in the central pacific, is a core strategic partner of the United States. The deep and close relationship, born in the blood of World War II battles, is formalized in the Compact of Free Association (COFA). The agreement means Palauans can serve in the U.S. military and live and work in the United States. The COFA also grants the U.S. extensive and unique defense oversight in Palauan territory, including the right of strategic denial: access that is an imperative part of the U.S. defense architecture in the Pacific. Additionally, Palau recognizes Taiwan. All this combines to make Palau a major target of Beijing’s influence operations as they aim to force a derecognition of Taiwan and pressure them to move away from the United States. With the sensitive COFA renegotiation underway, Palauan President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. is in Washington and has agreed to sit down with FDD Non-Resident Senior Fellow Cleo Paskal and FDD Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer to discuss the U.S.-Palau relationship and details on the great power battle taking place in the Pacific Islands. For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/07/17/the-united-states-and-palaus-strategic-partnership-a-conversation-with-president-surangel-s-whipps-jr/

The People’s Republic of China is undertaking a massive military buildup and wielding its growing might more aggressively, including in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea. At the same time, Beijing is deepening its security cooperation with Moscow and Tehran. To deter aggression in regions that are vital to American interests, Washington needs capable forward-positioned military forces. It also needs defense partners with cutting edge capabilities that can operate effectively alongside American forces and help carry the security burden. Thankfully, the United States already enjoys an impressive network of allies and partners — but growing threats require Washington to redouble efforts to build partner capacity and deepen their integration with U.S. forces. That’s easier said than done, requiring hard work on basing agreements, defense trade, contingency planning, and military exercises.FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP) hosts a conversation with Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs Jessica Lewis on the Biden administration’s ongoing security cooperation efforts in the Indo-Pacific and beyond. Drawing on Assistant Secretary Lewis’s recent visit to the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the conversation – moderated by CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman – will discuss priorities, opportunities, and challenges going forward.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/06/29/building-deterrence-security-cooperation-in-the-indo-pacific-and-beyond/

Emerging technology develops at a pace that is hard to master, much less legislate. The government should ensure that the opportunities technology provides maximize the potential for societal improvements while ensuring both economic and national security. Two of the most effective efforts to tackle the emerging technology challenges in the past half-decade were the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) and the Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC).As the former chairs of these two congressionally mandated commissions, Rep. Mike Gallagher (CSC) and Dr. Eric Schmidt (NSCAI) discuss the roles of Congress, the Executive Branch, academia, and private sector leaders in shaping emerging technology policy, including how commissions can influence policies moving forward.The panel is moderated by the former NSCAI Executive Director and current President and CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project Ylli Bajraktari, and the former CSC Executive Director and current Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation and CSC 2.0 Executive Director RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery.The event is hosted by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the Special Competitive Studies Project, and CSC 2.0.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/06/07/thinking-forward-after-the-nscai-and-csc/

Turkey held its scheduled elections on May 14, with mixed results. While President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development-led “People’s Alliance” has likely held its parliamentary majority, the presidential election results are still unclear. The polls accurately depicted a close race between President Erdogan and his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. At present, neither candidate appears to have crossed the 50% threshold necessary to clinch the presidency, and thereby triggering a runoff election on May 28.To discuss what lies ahead, FDD will host a panel featuring Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies and director of the International Affairs Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR); Howard Eissenstat, associate professor of Middle East history at St. Lawrence University; and Sibel Oktay, non-resident senior fellow of Public Opinion and Foreign Policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The panel will be moderated by Sinan Ciddi, non-resident senior fellow at FDD and associate professor of national security studies at Marine Corps University.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/05/18/turkeys-elections-a-contested-and-uncertain-outcome/

Brave Ukrainians continue to defend their homeland from the unprovoked, blatantly illegal, and imperialist war being waged by invading Russian troops under the command of Vladimir Putin. Where does the conflict stand? What resources do Ukrainians most need for the expected counteroffensive? Why is support for Ukraine in America’s national interest? What impact will the outcome of this war have on other expansionist regimes?To discuss these questions and more, FDD hosts an on-the-record conversation with Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova led by FDD Founder and President Clifford D. May.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/05/05/ukraines-war-of-independence-a-conversation-with-amb-oksana-markarova/

Auburn University’s McCrary Institute, FDD, and CSC 2.0, hosted a virtual event on the cyber risks in space. The event features former Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Mike Rogers; former Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Sue Gordon; Skycorp CEO Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Steven L. Kwast; CSC 2.0 Executive Director and Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation RADM (Ret.) Mark Montgomery. Moderated by McCrary Institute’s Frank Cilluffo, the conversation discusses the best path forward in addressing cybersecurity challenges unique to space systems, cybersecurity as a tool to support new and emerging space-based missions, and ways to enhance the public-private partnership model with genuinely shared risk management responsibilities.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/04/14/securing-space-addressing-the-cyber-risk/

After twenty years of dominating Turkish politics, Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces an electoral challenge to his hold on power. Turkish law requires Erdogan to hold presidential and parliamentary elections no later than June of this year. Until recently, polls put Erdogan slightly behind his potential challengers. Economic conditions are dire. Complicating matters further, devastating earthquakes last month killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, resulting in public outrage over the government’s politicized response that prioritized limiting the damage to Erdogan’s reputation rather than saving lives.FDD’s panel discussion explores these issues with Sinan Ciddi as well as Henri Barkey, Cohen professor in international relations at Lehigh University and adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Merve Tahiroglu, Turkey Program director at the Project on Middle East Democracy, with Nate Schenkkan, senior director of research for Freedom House’s work on countering authoritarianism, moderating.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/03/01/turkey-after-erdogan-2/

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command is responsible for securing 2.5 million square miles of water area across the wider Middle East. That includes the global chokepoints of the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, and Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, which are vital to international commerce and security. The Islamic Republic of Iran uses many of these waters to smuggle illicit weapons to its terror proxies and undermine freedom of navigation by threatening, harassing, and attacking vessels sailing where international law permits.FDD hosts NAVCENT Commander Vice Admiral Brad Cooper in conversation with CMPP Senior Director Bradley Bowman. They discuss threats and challenges in the region and how NAVCENT is seeking to leverage cutting-edge technology, partnerships, and expanded military exercises to build an effective combined regional security architecture that deters and defeats aggression.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/02/23/securing-contested-waters-a-conversation-with-navcent-commander-vice-adm-cooper/

The Eastern Mediterranean has been an epicenter of great power competition for over two millennia. Located at the nexus of Africa, Asia, and Europe, the region’s strategic location, cultural significance, and vast natural resources require the United States to implement a coherent approach.In what ways have recent developments, including the historic Abraham Accords normalization agreements and the launch of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, impacted the region? How does a more integrated Eastern Mediterranean advance U.S. interests and what can be done to support such efforts? What can the United States do to meet the rising challenges and take advantage of the emerging opportunities in region?The event features introductory remarks from Hellenic American Leadership Council Executive Director Endy Zemenides with a panel discussion featuring Senior Director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power Bradley Bowman, FDD Senior Advisor Amb. Eric S. Edelman, Member of the Hellenic Parliament Dimitris Keridis, and FDD Senior Vice President for Research Jonathan Schanzer. The conversation is moderated by Washington Correspondent for Greek Public TV ERT Lena Argiri.This event, hosted by FDD’s Turkey Program and Center on Military and Political Power, was a breakout session of the Delphi Economic Forum.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/02/07/towards-a-greater-eastern-mediterranean-opportunities-for-strategic-integration-in-the-region/

The security situation in the West Bank is volatile. A mosaic of terrorist groups — many backed by the Islamic Republic of Iran — have found the West Bank ripe ground for plotting violence and attacking Israelis. A major increase in terrorist attacks in Israel in early 2022 has made clear the Palestinian Authority has lost control of parts of the West Bank. What sparked the rising tensions? Can the Palestinian Authority regain control? What role does the Islamic Republic of Iran play in the violence? How has Israel been responding to the attacks? And what can Washington and allied nations do to deescalate the situation? To discuss these questions and more, FDD hosts an on-the-record event on the rising tensions in the West Bank.The event features a panel discussion with Lt. Col. (Ret.) Jonathan Conricus, former international spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces and a member of the Israel Defense and Security Forum; Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at FDD and former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury; and Enia Krivine, senior director of FDD’s Israel Program and National Security Network. The conversation will be moderated by Bradley Bowman, senior director of FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power.For more, check out: https://www.fdd.org/events/2023/01/09/rising-tensions-in-the-west-bank/