The WTO's Fast Track to Irrelevance

The World Trade Organization (WTO) headquarters pictured on November 27, 2021 in Geneva. (Getty Images)

The Omicron scare provided a face-saving way to cancel the Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), scheduled to open this week in Geneva—but the session was never headed for anything more than minimal results. The WTO’s inefficiency, China’s growing influence, and the lack of economic-policy consensus within and among national democracies are the principal causes of its endemic gridlock, Thomas Duesterberg argues in The Wall Street Journal. As the WTO loses its leadership role, the U.S. must take steps to preserve the liberal trade order by building up regional open-trading areas.

Virtual Event | The Future of US Climate Policy with Representative John Curtis

 Smoke billows from stacks in a neighborhood next to a coal-fired power plant in Shanxi, China. (Getty Images)

As emissions from China and other major polluters continue to rise, governments remain sharply divided over issues such as the future of fossil fuels, national emissions targets, and financing for developing countries. How should the United States proceed to tackle climate change, both domestically and on the global stage? Hudson Institute Research Fellow Nate Sibley sat down with Congressman John Curtis, Chairman of the Conservative Climate Caucus for a discussion on these pressing questions.

South Korea and America Must Look Beyond Pyongyang

South Korea's President Moon Jae-In presented his national statement on day two of COP26 at SECC on November 1, 2021, in Glasgow, United Kingdom. (Getty Images)

As Beijing grows increasingly assertive, the time has come for South Korea and the United States to join forces and exert greater influence throughout the Indo-Pacific, writes Patrick Cronin in The National Interest. By working together to build durable rules, advance technological innovation, secure supply chains, and protect human rights, the U.S.-South Korea alliance can move beyond primarily managing Pyongyang to shaping the emerging security environment for decades to come.

Virtual Event | Understanding Wolf Warrior Diplomacy with Peter Martin

In recent years, Chinese diplomats have adopted an increasingly aggressive posture toward the United States and its democratic partners, known as “wolf warrior diplomacy.” However, as Bloomberg journalist and China expert Peter Martin discusses in his new book, “China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy,” neither this style of diplomacy nor the strategic considerations behind it are unique to China’s approach to foreign policy. Peter Martin joined Senior Fellow Nury Turkel to discuss China’s escalation of aggressive diplomatic tactics and its implications for U.S.-China relations.

Global Free Trade Is in Crisis

Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala arrives for the welcome ceremony on the first day of the Rome G20 summit, on October 30, 2021, in Rome, Italy. (Getty Images)

As diplomats prepare for December’s 110-government virtual Summit for Democracy, there is much hand-wringing over democracy’s global retreat. That democratic recession is real, but another fundamental element of the liberal world order is in even more trouble: free trade. Walter Russell Mead assesses the failures of the West on this critical issue in The Wall Street Journal.

BEFORE YOU GO...

On December 8, 2021, Hudson will celebrate six decades of “thinking about the unthinkable” with a 60th anniversary reception in New York. 

Hudson Institute was founded in 1961 by visionary strategist Herman Kahn as a new kind of research organization, combining rigorous analysis with creativity and foresight, and offering practical, innovative solutions built on strong American leadership. Hudson’s pioneering research on crucial areas including military technology and preparedness, geopolitical strategy, intelligence, and economics has helped America’s decision-makers craft policies that advance America’s freedom, security, and prosperity for more than half a century. Contact Abby Schultz at [email protected] for further details.