Hudson Institute Political Studies

We are excited to announce Brendan McBreen as the simulation instructor for our upcoming Policy Certificate, Strategy in Motion: The Policies and Tactics of Modern Warfare (4/30–5/4). --- Brendan McBreen is currently assigned to the Joint Staff's J7 Directorate for Joint Force Development. During his 25 years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer, he deployed across the Pacific and throughout the Middle East. He commanded two infantry platoons, two infantry companies, a battalion, and led Marines on operations in 15 countries. In Afghanistan, he served as the senior combat advisor to the 201st Corps of the Afghan National Army. Mr. McBreen formerly served on the faculty of the Marine Corps Intelligence School. Mr. McBreen is an honor graduate of the School of Advanced Warfighting, a founding member of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, and a former editorial board member of the Marine Corps Gazette. He holds a master’s degree in strategic planning and has extensive experience as a war planner in both the US Pacific and the US Central Combatant Command areas.

Earlier this month, Political Studies alumni reunited to present their work at the Ciceronian Society conference. For alumni interested in academic and scholarly careers, we are currently preparing panel proposals for upcoming conferences. Read the most recent newsletter or get in touch for opportunities to present on topics in political science, philosophy, and history. --- Michael Lucchese (PS '17), "The Constitution in Their Hearts: John Adams and Edmund Burke on the Ideal Republic" Shane Leary (PS '19), "The Republican Spirit and Separation of Powers" Aaron Slutkin (PS '21), "Privacy, Constitutionalism, and the Moral Order"

Attention alumni: Join us tomorrow (3/25) for a virtual resume workshop with Nick Mackey, Director of Operations at Hudson Institute. Among many other responsibilities, Mr. Mackey is Hudson's human resources lead and has read through thousands of resumes. Learn how to make a great first impression, ensure your resume is memorable, and avoid common pitfalls, so that you can be better positioned to secure positions across think tanks, government, and industry. Please make sure to RSVP. The Zoom link is available in the most recent newsletter—alongside information for other upcoming events.

Join us May 10 for the annual alumni wargame! Whether in person or online, alumni are invited to participate in our wargame, where teams represent the political, diplomatic, and military leadership of various countries as they compete in response to our simulation scenario. A fun and insightful exercise, wargaming encourages participants to view a different dimension of policymaking as they cooperate with limited time and informational constraints while trying to predict countries' potential responses to emerging threats and crises. Registration is open to alumni, more information is available in our newsletter.

A really amazing opportunity to learn from one of the most introspective and thoughtful leaders in DC today. If you're an early career professional, definitely check this out:

With weekly essay assignments, end-of-program capstones, and years of practice, Political Studies alumni are fairly good writers! That's why we are partnering with Athwart Magazine for an alumni writing contest on the topic of education. Alumni from our Summer Fellowship and Policy Certificate programs are invited to reflect on philosophy of education, education policy, or books and teachers that most strongly influenced them. Creative submissions are encouraged—we hope to find the next Rousseau or Montaigne! Alumni have until May 12 to submit their essays. More information and contest guidelines are available in our newsletter. Contact [email protected] for any questions.

We are excited to announce that applications for our next Policy Certificate, Strategy in Motion: The Policies and Tactics of Modern Warfare, are open! Taking place from April 30 to May 5, 2025, this program will be led by Garrett Exner. Garrett Exner is an adjunct fellow at Hudson Institute, where he writes and comments on US national defense with a specific focus on the use of special operations forces and gray zone competition. Mr. Exner is also a contributing editor for Providence Magazine and executive director of the Public Interest Fellowship, where he is responsible for the fellow selection process, fellow placements, relationships with partner organizations, and oversight of the development and educations of fellows over their time in the program. Previously, he served as the military legislative assistant to US Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), a counterterrorism policy advisor in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy), and as a special operations officer in the United States Marine Corps. He spent 14 years in the Marine Corps with deployments and operational experience in Iraq, North Africa, East Africa, and the South Pacific.

Applications are now open! https://lnkd.in/gTWPn7Qq

Strategy in Motion: The Policies and Tactics of Modern Warfare April 30 – May 4 We are excited to announce our next Policy Certificate Program for young professionals! From April 30 to May 4, join us for Strategy in Motion: The Policies and Tactics of Modern Warfare. This intensive certificate program is designed to provide emerging policy professionals with a crash course in military tactics and operational realities. Applications are opening soon!

Brady Helwig, an alumnus of the Political Studies Policy Certificate program, appeared on the Memos to the President podcast to discuss microelectronics. Arguing for the need to 1) achieve massive increases in AI energy efficiency, 2) expand opportunities for chip startups, and 3) defend positional advantages relative to China in tech fields, Mr. Helwig and the other podcast participants charted a policy path for securing America's technological edge. Brady Helwig is Associate Director for Economy at the Special Competitive Studies Project. He participated in Hudson Institute Political Studies' 2024 policy certificate "The Visible Hand: Positioning America to Compete.” Listen to the podcast episode here: https://loom.ly/Zf5oIIg