Aaron MacLean

Senior Fellow

National Security and Defense
Defense Strategy
Aaron Maclean Hudson

At A Glance:

Aaron MacLean is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the host of the School of War podcast.

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Biography

Aaron MacLean is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute and the host of the School of War podcast.

Previously, Mr. MacLean was senior foreign policy advisor and legislative director to Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR). He served on active duty as a United States Marine for seven years, deploying to Afghanistan as an infantry officer in 2009–10. Following his time in the operating forces, he was assigned to the faculty of the US Naval Academy, where he was the 2013 recipient of the Apgar Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Mr. MacLean received a BA in philosophy and the history of math and science from St. John’s College, Annapolis, and an MPhil (Dist.) in medieval Arabic thought from the University of Oxford. He has been a Boren scholar and a Marshall scholar and lives in Virginia, where he was born.

Events
Back to Aaron MacLean
12
December 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Michael Sobolik
Zineb Riboua
Sebastian Gorka
Walter Russell Mead
John P. Walters
Park MacDougald
Scott Jennings
Chairman Brian Mast
Judd Rosenblatt
Derek Harvey
Matt Spalding
Cole Bunzel
Moderators:
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Liel Leibovitz
Aaron MacLean
Getty Images
12
December 2025
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Antisemitism as a National Security Threat

Hudson’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East will convene policymakers, experts, and private sector leaders to examine how antisemitism, both foreign and domestic, threatens American security and Western civilization.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Michael Sobolik
Zineb Riboua
Sebastian Gorka
Walter Russell Mead
John P. Walters
Park MacDougald
Scott Jennings
Chairman Brian Mast
Judd Rosenblatt
Derek Harvey
Matt Spalding
Cole Bunzel
Moderators:
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
Liel Leibovitz
Aaron MacLean
Learn More
22
May 2025
Past Event
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Congressman Kevin Hern
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Jonathan Hessen
Joel Scanlon
Jason Hsu
Dan Blumenthal
Michael Sobolik
Garrett Exner
Ilan Berman
Mike Watson
Moderators:
Liel Leibovitz
Zineb Riboua
Ethan Gutman
Adhwaa Alsaleh
Daniel Samet
(US-China Rivalry in the Middle East logo)
22
May 2025
Past Event
US-China Rivalry in the Middle East Conference

Former policymakers and leading national security experts will join Hudson to assess how China’s growing influence is reshaping the regional order—and how the US should respond.

(US-China Rivalry in the Middle East logo)
Featured Speakers:
Senator Ted Cruz
Congressman Kevin Hern
Elliott Abrams
Michael Doran
Mary Kissel
Bernard Haykel
Joshua Meservey
John Lee
Aaron MacLean
Ray Takeyh
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Jonathan Hessen
Joel Scanlon
Jason Hsu
Dan Blumenthal
Michael Sobolik
Garrett Exner
Ilan Berman
Mike Watson
Moderators:
Liel Leibovitz
Zineb Riboua
Ethan Gutman
Adhwaa Alsaleh
Daniel Samet
Learn More
17
June 2024
Past Event
Deterring China through Nonmilitary Costs
Featured Speakers:
John Lee
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Aaron MacLean
Members of the Peoples Liberation Army flag honor guard march in Tiananmen Square on March 11, 2024, in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
17
June 2024
Past Event
Deterring China through Nonmilitary Costs

Join Hudson Senior Fellows Aaron MacLean, Tom Duesterberg, Bryan Clark, and John Lee as they discuss Dr. Lee’s latest report, cowritten with Lavina Lee.

Members of the Peoples Liberation Army flag honor guard march in Tiananmen Square on March 11, 2024, in Beijing, China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
John Lee
Thomas J. Duesterberg
Bryan Clark
Moderator:
Aaron MacLean
Learn More
16
November 2023
Past Event
On War: Thucydides and Current Strategic Dilemmas | Policy Certificate Program
Featured Speakers:
Aaron MacLean
Walter Russell Mead
Rachel Mackey
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16
November 2023
Past Event
On War: Thucydides and Current Strategic Dilemmas | Policy Certificate Program

The Hudson Institute Political Studies Policy Certificate Program gathers talented early and mid-career professionals for advanced study of public policy and national security led by policy experts and experienced government officials.

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Featured Speakers:
Aaron MacLean
Walter Russell Mead
Rachel Mackey
Learn More
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