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This program is not simply about learning from great works. It’s about the people you meet, the connections you make, and the friendships that will last a lifetime.

The Hudson Political Studies Fellowship includes a deep reading of political theory and applies the lessons learned from these great texts to real, present-day political issues. At a time when it is easy to have an opinion on just about anything, the program challenged me to appreciate just how difficult the questions are that face policymakers. Many programs claim to be non-partisan, Hudson Political Studies genuinely is, encouraging debate from individuals across the political spectrum.

Hudson erects a Mount of Parnassus in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. Here, the best minds meet, mingle, and metamorphose. Helped by experienced statesmen, enlightened scholars, and those who are both, we grow to be better individuals and citizens.

Participating in the Hudson Institute’s Political Studies Program stands among the most engaging and enriching opportunities I have received. The program was rigorous and immersive, holding participants accountable to high standards in our writing, contributions to class discussion and performance during policy workshops. Hudson surpassed my expectations of what a summer academic program could achieve.

From gaining invaluable knowledge to simulating political crises in workshops, or even forging life-long friendships, the Hudson Institute Political Studies program is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and an adventure, both intellectually and personally.

This program is not simply about learning from great works. It’s about the people you meet, the connections you make, and the friendships that will last a lifetime.

The Hudson Political Studies Fellowship includes a deep reading of political theory and applies the lessons learned from these great texts to real, present-day political issues. At a time when it is easy to have an opinion on just about anything, the program challenged me to appreciate just how difficult the questions are that face policymakers. Many programs claim to be non-partisan, Hudson Political Studies genuinely is, encouraging debate from individuals across the political spectrum.

Hudson erects a Mount of Parnassus in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. Here, the best minds meet, mingle, and metamorphose. Helped by experienced statesmen, enlightened scholars, and those who are both, we grow to be better individuals and citizens.

Participating in the Hudson Institute’s Political Studies Program stands among the most engaging and enriching opportunities I have received. The program was rigorous and immersive, holding participants accountable to high standards in our writing, contributions to class discussion and performance during policy workshops. Hudson surpassed my expectations of what a summer academic program could achieve.

From gaining invaluable knowledge to simulating political crises in workshops, or even forging life-long friendships, the Hudson Institute Political Studies program is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and an adventure, both intellectually and personally.

This program is not simply about learning from great works. It’s about the people you meet, the connections you make, and the friendships that will last a lifetime.

The Hudson Political Studies Fellowship includes a deep reading of political theory and applies the lessons learned from these great texts to real, present-day political issues. At a time when it is easy to have an opinion on just about anything, the program challenged me to appreciate just how difficult the questions are that face policymakers. Many programs claim to be non-partisan, Hudson Political Studies genuinely is, encouraging debate from individuals across the political spectrum.

Hudson erects a Mount of Parnassus in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue. Here, the best minds meet, mingle, and metamorphose. Helped by experienced statesmen, enlightened scholars, and those who are both, we grow to be better individuals and citizens.

Participating in the Hudson Institute’s Political Studies Program stands among the most engaging and enriching opportunities I have received. The program was rigorous and immersive, holding participants accountable to high standards in our writing, contributions to class discussion and performance during policy workshops. Hudson surpassed my expectations of what a summer academic program could achieve.

From gaining invaluable knowledge to simulating political crises in workshops, or even forging life-long friendships, the Hudson Institute Political Studies program is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and an adventure, both intellectually and personally.

Offering exceptional students a unique learning experience focused on the serious study of politics.

Hudson Institute Political Studies offers an education in political theory and practice that broadens and deepens understanding of public policy and American political principles. Rather than a set of answers, Hudson Institute Political Studies offers a framework for political thought and strategic analysis that equips students to seriously confront the challenges facing this nation and the world. By studying the most consequential ideas of the greatest political minds, students seek to determine--and meet--the demands of a free society and a just republic.  

Hudson Institute Political Studies includes two core programs: an undergraduate Summer Fellowship in theory and practice and a graduate level Policy Certificate Program on pressing current issues. Beyond academic programs, the robust Political Studies alumni community promotes active intellectual and political life guided by the contemplation of eternal questions.

Summer Fellowship

The Summer Fellowship combines rigorous study of political thought and public policy in six, week-long courses led by master teachers, policy workshops directed by field experts and experienced government officials, and a distinguished speaker series of exemplary figures from public life. Below you can see the syllabus of our 2022 Summer Fellowship. Our 2023 Summer Fellowship will run from June 18th to July 29th.

Policy Certificate

The Policy Certificate Program gathers talented early career professionals for advanced study of American foreign and domestic policy, and national security led by policy experts and experienced government officials. Each of Hudson’s policy certification workshops covers a distinct region or topic ranging from military strategy and technology to energy security and criminal justice reform.

Learn More

Summer Fellowship Seminars

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Political Foundingswith Robert C. Bartlett, Mark Blitz and Timothy W. Burns

June 19-June 23, 2023 at Washington D.C.

Political philosophy is, fundamentally, a discussion about the best regime. Therefore we begin with an investigation into political foundings. We read two dramatically different texts —one that takes as its bearing man’s inclination to act malevolently, and another that attempts to found a city in a quest to understand justice. Reading The Prince, we inquire into Machiavelli’s innovations, and ask if his political science looks similar to our own. We also begin Plato’s Republic, which we will read throughout the program, to see what is needed to form a just city.

 

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The American Foundingwith Keegan Callanan, J. Michael Hoffpauir and Diana Schaub

June 26-June 30 at Washington D.C.

Having discussed political foundings broadly in the first week’s seminar, we turn to a particular founding. We read America’s key founding documents, and consider—in comparison with Machiavelli’s teachings and Socratic philosophy—the political justifications made by the Founders of the regime that promise life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We examine whether the American regime at its founding was informed by an understanding of justice, both for individuals and the political community, or whether the Founders were more concerned with uniting a multiplicity of “particular interests” into a stable and strong country.

 

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The Ideal Republicwith Charles T. Rubin, Adam Thomas and Devin Stauffer

July 3-July 7 at Washington D.C.

In the third week, we return to Plato, with an assessment of the American regime in hand, to develop our understanding of justice and political life. In the Republic, Socrates constructs a “best city in speech” in order to understand justice in the human soul. Why does he approach political founding through the framework of justice in the soul? Tracing the evolution of the model of the city through its progressive stages, we will examine how it leads to a political class structure and corresponding structure of the soul. We will inquire, finally, into the status of this city as a way to understand justice: is it meant to be a blueprint for political life, or on the contrary, a display of the psychology of political idealism and its dangers? What can we learn from Socrates’s founding of a regime in speech about actual political founding?

 

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The American Refoundingwith Fred Baumann, Murray Dry and Mike Hawley

July 10-July 14 at Washington D.C.

Machiavelli proposed the necessity of re-founding political regimes—as a means of putting off the inevitable death which comes to all things. We examine America’s near death—the nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” but crippled by the original sin of slavery, which precipitated a great Civil War. We look closely at the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and investigate the re-founding of America achieved through Emancipation—was it even a re-founding or instead a second American Revolution? Did Lincoln achieve the full promise of America’s founding ideals?

 

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American Public Policywith Michael Doran, Aaron MacLean, Charles T. Rubin, John Sawicki and John P. Walters

July 17-July 21 at Washington D.C.

We examine both American domestic and foreign policy with a view to discussing America’s most pressing problems.

In our domestic policy section half of the students consider man in the age of technology, in order to understand the relationship between human beings, technological progress and government. These studies conclude with an examination of technology legislation as a case study. The other half of our students delve into criminal justice reform and the policies of law and order. These studies conclude with a policy simulation that asks students to devise legislation on criminal justice reform.

Our foreign policy section is similarly divided. A third of our students looks at American policy in the Asia-Pacific, another third studies Trans-Atlantic Relations in a globalized world, while the last third considers military strategy. All three sections engage in a policy simulation as a capstone to their studies. Students are assigned a point of view or office such as Secretary of State or member of the Armed Services Committee, as well as a scenario to which they must respond. On Friday, they present their recommendations, debate, and decide on a course of action.

 

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Beyond Politicswith Janet A. Dougherty, Frank N. Pagano and James Carey

July 24-July 28 at Washington D.C.

No consideration of politics, republican or otherwise, can be complete without an examination of the limits of politics and a serious consideration of those aspects of human life which conflict with, or offer alternatives to, the political life. In this, the last week of the program, we examine political foundings in relation to religion and literature, and consider the possibility that the best regime is one not realizable on earth, but rather imagined by human minds or created by a divine being. We further consider how religion and literature, which one might say are not overtly political, inform human life in this world and the next.

 

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Political Foundingswith Robert C. Bartlett, Mark Blitz and Timothy W. Burns

June 19-June 23, 2023 at Washington D.C.

Political philosophy is, fundamentally, a discussion about the best regime. Therefore we begin with an investigation into political foundings. We read two dramatically different texts —one that takes as its bearing man’s inclination to act malevolently, and another that attempts to found a city in a quest to understand justice. Reading The Prince, we inquire into Machiavelli’s innovations, and ask if his political science looks similar to our own. We also begin Plato’s Republic, which we will read throughout the program, to see what is needed to form a just city.

 

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The American Foundingwith Keegan Callanan, J. Michael Hoffpauir and Diana Schaub

June 26-June 30 at Washington D.C.

Having discussed political foundings broadly in the first week’s seminar, we turn to a particular founding. We read America’s key founding documents, and consider—in comparison with Machiavelli’s teachings and Socratic philosophy—the political justifications made by the Founders of the regime that promise life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We examine whether the American regime at its founding was informed by an understanding of justice, both for individuals and the political community, or whether the Founders were more concerned with uniting a multiplicity of “particular interests” into a stable and strong country.

 

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The Ideal Republicwith Charles T. Rubin, Adam Thomas and Devin Stauffer

July 3-July 7 at Washington D.C.

In the third week, we return to Plato, with an assessment of the American regime in hand, to develop our understanding of justice and political life. In the Republic, Socrates constructs a “best city in speech” in order to understand justice in the human soul. Why does he approach political founding through the framework of justice in the soul? Tracing the evolution of the model of the city through its progressive stages, we will examine how it leads to a political class structure and corresponding structure of the soul. We will inquire, finally, into the status of this city as a way to understand justice: is it meant to be a blueprint for political life, or on the contrary, a display of the psychology of political idealism and its dangers? What can we learn from Socrates’s founding of a regime in speech about actual political founding?

 

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The American Refoundingwith Fred Baumann, Murray Dry and Mike Hawley

July 10-July 14 at Washington D.C.

Machiavelli proposed the necessity of re-founding political regimes—as a means of putting off the inevitable death which comes to all things. We examine America’s near death—the nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” but crippled by the original sin of slavery, which precipitated a great Civil War. We look closely at the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and investigate the re-founding of America achieved through Emancipation—was it even a re-founding or instead a second American Revolution? Did Lincoln achieve the full promise of America’s founding ideals?

 

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American Public Policywith Michael Doran, Aaron MacLean, Charles T. Rubin, John Sawicki and John P. Walters

July 17-July 21 at Washington D.C.

We examine both American domestic and foreign policy with a view to discussing America’s most pressing problems.

In our domestic policy section half of the students consider man in the age of technology, in order to understand the relationship between human beings, technological progress and government. These studies conclude with an examination of technology legislation as a case study. The other half of our students delve into criminal justice reform and the policies of law and order. These studies conclude with a policy simulation that asks students to devise legislation on criminal justice reform.

Our foreign policy section is similarly divided. A third of our students looks at American policy in the Asia-Pacific, another third studies Trans-Atlantic Relations in a globalized world, while the last third considers military strategy. All three sections engage in a policy simulation as a capstone to their studies. Students are assigned a point of view or office such as Secretary of State or member of the Armed Services Committee, as well as a scenario to which they must respond. On Friday, they present their recommendations, debate, and decide on a course of action.

 

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Beyond Politicswith Janet A. Dougherty, Frank N. Pagano and James Carey

July 24-July 28 at Washington D.C.

No consideration of politics, republican or otherwise, can be complete without an examination of the limits of politics and a serious consideration of those aspects of human life which conflict with, or offer alternatives to, the political life. In this, the last week of the program, we examine political foundings in relation to religion and literature, and consider the possibility that the best regime is one not realizable on earth, but rather imagined by human minds or created by a divine being. We further consider how religion and literature, which one might say are not overtly political, inform human life in this world and the next.

 

{data.title}

Political Foundingswith Robert C. Bartlett, Mark Blitz and Timothy W. Burns

June 19-June 23, 2023 at Washington D.C.

Political philosophy is, fundamentally, a discussion about the best regime. Therefore we begin with an investigation into political foundings. We read two dramatically different texts —one that takes as its bearing man’s inclination to act malevolently, and another that attempts to found a city in a quest to understand justice. Reading The Prince, we inquire into Machiavelli’s innovations, and ask if his political science looks similar to our own. We also begin Plato’s Republic, which we will read throughout the program, to see what is needed to form a just city.

 

{data.title}

The American Foundingwith Keegan Callanan, J. Michael Hoffpauir and Diana Schaub

June 26-June 30 at Washington D.C.

Having discussed political foundings broadly in the first week’s seminar, we turn to a particular founding. We read America’s key founding documents, and consider—in comparison with Machiavelli’s teachings and Socratic philosophy—the political justifications made by the Founders of the regime that promise life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We examine whether the American regime at its founding was informed by an understanding of justice, both for individuals and the political community, or whether the Founders were more concerned with uniting a multiplicity of “particular interests” into a stable and strong country.

 

{data.title}

The Ideal Republicwith Charles T. Rubin, Adam Thomas and Devin Stauffer

July 3-July 7 at Washington D.C.

In the third week, we return to Plato, with an assessment of the American regime in hand, to develop our understanding of justice and political life. In the Republic, Socrates constructs a “best city in speech” in order to understand justice in the human soul. Why does he approach political founding through the framework of justice in the soul? Tracing the evolution of the model of the city through its progressive stages, we will examine how it leads to a political class structure and corresponding structure of the soul. We will inquire, finally, into the status of this city as a way to understand justice: is it meant to be a blueprint for political life, or on the contrary, a display of the psychology of political idealism and its dangers? What can we learn from Socrates’s founding of a regime in speech about actual political founding?

 

{data.title}

The American Refoundingwith Fred Baumann, Murray Dry and Mike Hawley

July 10-July 14 at Washington D.C.

Machiavelli proposed the necessity of re-founding political regimes—as a means of putting off the inevitable death which comes to all things. We examine America’s near death—the nation “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal” but crippled by the original sin of slavery, which precipitated a great Civil War. We look closely at the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and investigate the re-founding of America achieved through Emancipation—was it even a re-founding or instead a second American Revolution? Did Lincoln achieve the full promise of America’s founding ideals?

 

{data.title}

American Public Policywith Michael Doran, Aaron MacLean, Charles T. Rubin, John Sawicki and John P. Walters

July 17-July 21 at Washington D.C.

We examine both American domestic and foreign policy with a view to discussing America’s most pressing problems.

In our domestic policy section half of the students consider man in the age of technology, in order to understand the relationship between human beings, technological progress and government. These studies conclude with an examination of technology legislation as a case study. The other half of our students delve into criminal justice reform and the policies of law and order. These studies conclude with a policy simulation that asks students to devise legislation on criminal justice reform.

Our foreign policy section is similarly divided. A third of our students looks at American policy in the Asia-Pacific, another third studies Trans-Atlantic Relations in a globalized world, while the last third considers military strategy. All three sections engage in a policy simulation as a capstone to their studies. Students are assigned a point of view or office such as Secretary of State or member of the Armed Services Committee, as well as a scenario to which they must respond. On Friday, they present their recommendations, debate, and decide on a course of action.

 

{data.title}

Beyond Politicswith Janet A. Dougherty, Frank N. Pagano and James Carey

July 24-July 28 at Washington D.C.

No consideration of politics, republican or otherwise, can be complete without an examination of the limits of politics and a serious consideration of those aspects of human life which conflict with, or offer alternatives to, the political life. In this, the last week of the program, we examine political foundings in relation to religion and literature, and consider the possibility that the best regime is one not realizable on earth, but rather imagined by human minds or created by a divine being. We further consider how religion and literature, which one might say are not overtly political, inform human life in this world and the next.

 

Offering exceptional students a unique learning experience focused on the serious study of politics.