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US Defense Strategy Amid China's Quest for Power

PAST EVENT VIDEO
Roundtable
Former Pentagon official Elbridge Colby offers a new perspective, grounded in the realist tradition and concrete policy experience, on how America’s defense strategy must change to deal with China’s rise.
Speakers
Elbridge Colby
Chet Lee
Event Date

About This Event

For the first time since the Cold War, America faces a great power rival in China. Elbridge Colby, who led the Pentagon shift toward great power competition in the National Defense Strategy 2018, argues that the United States must make fundamental changes to its defense strategy to deal with this reality – but has not yet done so. Colby joins the Council to discuss how the United States can protect Americans’ interests in a much more competitive era.

Following the public discussion, Donor level members and above are invited to join Colby for an off-the-record Q&A session on how a strategy of denial holds the best prospect for America’s long-term success.

Copies of Elbridge Colby’s book, The Strategy of Denial, are available to purchase through our local book partner, The Book Cellar.

About the Speakers
Cofounder and Principal, the Marathon Initiative
Elbridge Colby served as US deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development under the Trump administration and was the lead architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy. Colby is now the co-founder and principal of the Marathon Initiative, a policy initiative focused on developing strategies to prepare the United States for an era of sustained great power competition.
Chet Lee
Former US Navy Federal Executive Fellow
Headshot for Council expert Chet Lee
Chet Lee was the 2021-2022 Navy Federal Executive Fellow at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Lester Crown Center. As a career Naval Officer, he has deployed to the Middle East, South America, and Asia. He recently served at the United States Embassy in New Delhi, India, directing US Navy and Indian Navy cooperative efforts.
Headshot for Council expert Chet Lee