Upcoming Event
May
15
2026
North Korea
North Korea diplomacy in a shifting geopolitical order
The United States faces a defining moment in American foreign policy. Ongoing war in Ukraine, a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, intensifying competition with China, security challenges on the home front, and emerging technological and transnational threats have reshaped the strategic landscape. As the Trump administration prepares to release its National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy, policymakers confront a number of key questions. How are other countries’ views of the United States, and their foreign policies and actions, evolving during the Trump administration? How should the United States define and secure its national interests in an era of constrained resources and competing priorities? Addressing these questions requires careful assessment of both the international security environment and the defense capabilities needed to navigate it.
On October 29, 2025, Brookings hosted the fourth annual Knight Forum on Geopolitics to examine the strategic choices confronting American national security and defense policy. This year’s forum featured keynote discussions with Rep. Adam Smith and Sen. Elissa Slotkin as well as two expert panels that will assess the global security environment and priorities for the Trump administration’s security and defense strategy.Â
Online viewers submitted questions via e-mail to [email protected].
Agenda
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October 29
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Opening remarks
1:30 pm - 1:35 pm
Michael E. O’Hanlon Director of Research - Foreign Policy, Director - Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy @MichaelEOHanlon -
Keynote: Rep. Adam Smith on today’s national security challenges
1:35 pm - 2:25 pm
Moderator
Michael E. O’Hanlon Director of Research - Foreign Policy, Director - Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, Philip H. Knight Chair in Defense and Strategy @MichaelEOHanlon -
Panel 1: The international security environment and U.S. national security strategy
2:25 pm - 3:15 pm
Vanda Felbab-Brown Director - Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors, Co-Director - Africa Security Initiative, Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology @VFelbabBrown
Robert Kagan Stephen & Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and TechnologyModerator
Jeffrey Feltman John C. Whitehead Visiting Fellow in International Diplomacy - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology -
Coffee break
3:15 pm - 3:30 pm
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Keynote: Sen. Elissa Slotkin on domestic deployments and national security
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm
The Hon. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) Senator - U.S. SenateModerator
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Panel 2: The Trump administration and the U.S. National Defense Strategy
4:00 pm - 4:50 pm
Caitlin Talmadge Nonresident Senior Fellow - Foreign Policy, Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology @ProfTalmadge
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