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Annual Summit New York 2026

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Smart Power for a Safer World: A Conversation with The Hon. Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator, State of Connecticut

Democracy, Security, & Geopolitical Risk

Samantha Vinograd, The Hon. Chris Murphy

Session Summary

Important
Quotations

"China and Russia are spending vastly more than the United States to win the international information war. We are already losing this battle."

The Hon. Chris Murphy

Key
Takeaways

Smart Power Gap: America’s adversaries are winning the non-military competition. China and Russia invest multiples more than the U.S. in information warfare and counter-propaganda, while the U.S. spends 20 times more on conventional military than smart power tools.

Foreign Policy Inconsistency Crisis: Democratic policy whiplash undermines American reliability. Daily policy changes force allies to seek alternative partnerships, with countries unable to trust what the administration says one day will be true the next. This “turning our allies away” benefits totalitarian states like China that maintain policy consistency.

European Defense Imperative: Europe must prepare for potential U.S. NATO withdrawal. There’s no guarantee Trump will honor NATO commitments if European soil is attacked. However, Europe’s comprehensive security contributions, including counter-propaganda investments, should be recognized alongside traditional defense spending.

China’s Strategic Gains: Beijing celebrates as it conducts “one-for-one substitutions” of dismantled U.S. aid programs in countries like Cambodia and Nepal, gaining advantages in critical mineral supplies and political influence.

AI Governance Failure: China actually regulates AI more carefully than the U.S., contrary to popular narratives. The technology poses “civilization destroying” risks through massive job displacement and social disruption, but the current administration prioritizes industry profits over safety.

Corruption in Foreign Policy: “American foreign policy now is just as much about what enriches Donald Trump and his family as it is about what protects this country.” This represents “a stain that is gonna be hard to wash away” from America’s national security foundations.

Action
Items

Immediate: Restore smart power capabilities by expanding information warfare and counter-propaganda programs. Accelerate European defense integration with contingency planning independent of U.S. commitments. Strengthen oversight mechanisms to prevent corruption in foreign policy decision-making.

Medium-term: Establish AI governance frameworks using bioengineering industry cooperation as precedent. Create rapid-response partnerships to prevent strategic competitors from filling aid program voids. Build bipartisan foreign policy consistency mechanisms that transcend administrative changes.

Long-term: Build comprehensive power portfolios to match adversaries’ investments in economic, informational, and technological capabilities. Establish resilient alliance structures that withstand political changes of individual members. Develop new multilateral models acknowledging that traditional partners may become unreliable.