Episode #67 - July 2024

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With the NATO Summit, celebrating 75 years of this alliance, coming up in July, it is an important time to continue to make the case for the importance of NATO. While some question the usefulness of this alliance, the undeniable fact is that having a strong set of allies in the world sets the United States apart from its competitors. Russia and China cannot call on other countries in the same way and must revert to coercive tactics that make them even fewer friends on the global stage. In this episode we speak with Daniel Kochis, Senior Fellow for Europe and Eurasia at the Hudson Institute, about the strength of this alliance system, where it needs to be improved, and why Americans should continue to support engagement with our European allies. Whether you want a strong America that is ready to confront Russia and China, or you want the US to work closely with like minded countries to defend the international liberal order, you can't do much better than NATO.

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Daniel Kochis is a senior fellow in the Center on Europe and Eurasia at Hudson Institute. He specializes in transatlantic security issues and regularly publishes on United States policy in Europe; NATO, Baltic, and Nordic dimensions of collective defense; and Arctic issues.

Prior to joining Hudson, Mr. Kochis spent 11 years with the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, most recently as a research fellow in European affairs. There, he served as lead Europe analyst, authoring hundreds of publications and for a decade writing the Europe chapter of Heritage’s Index of US Military Strength.

Mr. Kochis travels extensively as part of his work, speaking and participating in various forums and conferences, including the US State Department’s expert speakers’ program, the Bucerius School of Global Governance in Hamburg, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Kakehashi Project, the Think Transatlantic Study Tour in Germany, and the Institute of World Policy Study tour in Kyiv.

He has presented at the Transatlantic Think Tank Conference in Brussels, the Transatlantic Policy Forum in Prague, New Direction’s Think Tank Central—Advancing Freedom Summit in Madrid, and to United States Southern Command. He has provided parliamentary evidence to the United Kingdom House of Lords Select Committee on the Arctic.

In addition to his work on transatlantic security, Mr. Kochis has government affairs experience working at a national nonprofit organization. He previously worked in research and marketing roles with the Advisory Board.

Mr. Kochis holds an MA in comparative political science from Fordham University, where he received the Richard A. Bennett graduate assistantship. He received his BA in political science from the Catholic University of America, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude, and from the University Honors Program.

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