This week, leaders from five Central Asian countries met with President Trump and announced deepening cooperation with the U.S., President Trump met with Prime Minister Orbán at the White House, the Rapid Support Forces in Sudan agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire although the country’s military has not yet accepted it, and President Milei defied calls to free float the peso.
Read more below.
Registration Open | Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition
Registration is open for the Aspen Security Forum: DC Edition! We hope you will join us for an afternoon of conversations on the most pressing national security and foreign policy challenges of our time. The Forum will feature an array of decision-makers and thought leaders from Washington, DC and around the world.
Space is limited; if you are interested in attending, apply at the link below.
Rising Leaders Program
The Aspen Strategy Group was pleased to bring together members of our Rising Leaders Program for an alumni reception and discussion hosted by the Embassy of Bahrain with His Excellency Ambassador Shaikh Abdulla Rashed Al Khalifa. The wide-ranging conversation covered outcomes of the recent Manama Dialogue; the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement between Bahrain, the U.S., and the UK; and more.
Now in its fifth year, the Rising Leaders Program has a robust alumni network of over 150 young professionals.
Interested in becoming an ASG Rising Leader? Learn more and apply now!
New Addition | ASG Publication
We are pleased to share a new addition to our publication, “Meeting China Anew.” Read Zack Cooper’s Foreign Affairs piece, How War in Taiwan Ends, sparked by the discussions at the 2025 ASG Workshop.
This Week’s Content Highlights
Features from Aspen Strategy Group Members
Condoleezza Rice interviewed by Christina H. Paxon at Brown University’s Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs: “A Conversation With 66th U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice”
Nicholas Burns interviewed for Harvard Kennedy School: “Neither China Nor the United States Scored a Conclusive Knockout at a Recent Summit, Former Ambassador Explains”
Anja Manuel interviewed by Joe Mathieu for Bloomberg: “Trump, Xi Ease Tension With Truce on Tariffs”
Kay Bailey Hutchison and Julie Smith at Grand Valley State University
Kurt Campbell interviewed by Martin Soong for CNBC: “Don’t Expect China to Stay ‘Addicted’ to the U.S. Tech Stack: Kurt Campbell”
Chris Coons quoted by Kevin Frey for MSNBC: “Republicans Think the Shutdown Is About to End. They Could Be Dead Wrong”
Elizabeth Economy interviewed by Ravi Agrawal for Foreign Policy: “Decoding Trump’s Asia Visit”
Michael Froman for the Council on Foreign Relations: “Celebrating the Arsonist”
Michael J. Green for the United States Studies Centre: “Trump’s Summit Success Lifts Trust in American Alliances”
Jane Harman and Eric S. Edelman for The Bulwark: “Trump’s Next Defense Strategy Risks Leaving the U.S. Underprepared”
David Petraeus met with Philippines Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.
David M. Rubenstein interviewed Stacy Schiff for C-SPAN’s America’s Book Club podcast: “Pulitzer Prize Author Stacy Schiff on Writing History That Feels Alive”
Dan Sullivan interviewed by Joe Mathieu for Bloomberg: “Trump, Xi Ease Tension With Truce on Tariffs”
Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer for Vox Media’s The Long Game podcast: “Xi and Putin Got Trump’s Number”
Lawrence Summers interviewed by David Westin for Bloomberg: “Summers Happy the Trump-Xi Meeting Didn’t ‘Spiral Out of Control’”
Post of the Week
Things to Know
Content Relevant to Aspen Security Forum Discussions
Kim Barker, Marc Santora, Evelina Riabenko, and Michael Schwirtz for The New York Times: “Russia Close to Its Biggest Capture of a Ukrainian City Since 2023”
Ryan C. Berg for Foreign Policy: “Toppling Maduro Without Boots on the Ground”
Alex De Waal for Foreign Affairs: “Terror Returns to Darfur”
Sadanand Dhume for The Wall Street Journal: “Trump’s Strange Love Affair With Pakistan”
Aamer Madhani for The Washington Post: “Trump Hosts Central Asian Leaders as U.S. Seeks to Get Around China on Rare Earth Metals”
Robert C. O’Brien for Foreign Affairs: “The Case for Trump’s Second-Term Foreign Policy”
Anat Peled for The Wall Street Journal: “Israel to Begin Drawing Down Reservist Forces Exhausted by Two Years of War”
Tucker Reals, Haley Ott, and Nicole Brown Chau for CBS News: “Putin Requests Proposals for Possible Resumption of Nuclear Weapons Tests in Response to Trump’s Comments”
Michael Stott and Ciara Nugent for the Financial Times: “Javier Milei Defies Call to Float Argentine Peso Freely”
Shunsuke Tabeta for Nikkei Asia: “China-U.S. Deal to Ease Rare Earth Controls Hits Snag Over Scope”
Joseph Winter for BBC News: “Trump Tells Military to Prepare for ‘Action’ Against Islamist Militants in Nigeria”
Sandor Zsiros for Euronews: “Trump-Orbán: Russian Oil Imports and War in Ukraine on the Table in ‘High-Stakes’ Washington Visit”
From the Archives
Revisit our conversation on how Middle Powers navigate great power competition from the 2025 Aspen Security Forum.
Navigating Great Power Competition: Global POVs
Elbegdorj Tsakhia, Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University; Former President and Former Prime Minister of Mongolia
Claudia Ruiz Massieu, Congresswoman, Chamber of Deputies of Mexico; Former Foreign Minister of Mexico
Balázs Orbán, Political Director for the Prime Minister; Member of Parliament, Hungary
Hina Rabbani Khar, Former Foreign Minister of Pakistan; Chairperson of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs Committee
Moderator: Jim Sciutto, CNN
Book of the Week
China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder
By Michael McFaul
“In this sweeping account of great power competition between the United States, China, and Russia over the past three centuries, Michael McFaul—former ambassador to Russia and international affairs analyst for NBC News—argues persuasively that today’s challenges require fresh thinking, not constrained by distant memories of the Cold War or the nationalist dreams of MAGA. One of the preeminent thinkers on American foreign policy for decades, McFaul combines in-depth historical analysis with a forward-looking perspective, crafting a new grand strategy for America in this age of global disorder….At once a clarion call for American diplomacy and a forceful rebuttal of the Trump administration’s policies, Autocrats vs. Democrats provides a nuanced assessment of the China and Russia threats, as well as a bold vision for renewing America’s leadership on the world stage.”
Around the Aspen Institute
Aspen Society Klein Book Series
Monday, November 10, 5:30-7:15 PM
Join our colleagues at the Aspen Society for an evening with journalist-author Meenakshi Ahamed and Supreme Court advocate and legal scholar Neal Katyal for a spirited discussion of Ahamed’s new book, Indian Genius: The Meteoric Rise of Indians in America, weaving together her rich storytelling of Indian-American trailblazers and his firsthand perspective on Indian-American influence in U.S. law and policy. Their exchange will illuminate how a wave of Indian-origin leaders across technology, medicine, business, and government is reshaping the American landscape and what that rise says about identity, ambition, and the future of the diaspora. They will also reflect on the current dynamics between the U.S. and India and how the evolving relationship shapes both nations’ global roles. The conversation will be moderated by The Washington Post’s foreign affairs columnist Ishaan Tharoor. Reception with speakers to follow.
Podcast of the Week
Carlos Solar joined Neil Melvin for the Royal United Services Institute’s Global Security Briefing podcast: “The Return of America First: U.S. Power and Influence in Latin America”
