Western Way of War

Peter Roberts talks to Dr Sidharth Kaushal about naval warfare and capital ships in the era of Great Power Competition. Dr Kaushal describes a new form of strategic raiding, the historical precedence for where navies find themselves and how the reversion to a forgotten way of warfare might be the saviour of carrier-based naval power.

Some capabilities are fundamental to military activities, but strategic capabilities tend to be valuable, rare, and inimitable. That means they tend to be human, not technical. HR guru Professor William Scott-Jackson talks to Peter Roberts about the research and science behind this, and what it means for military recruiting, training leaders, the problems with future employment models, and the centrality of culture/ethos. This episode might change some of the assumptions you have about military leadership, and training leaders!

Great powers are pressing ahead with hypersonic weapons, yet in adoption and adaptation there seems to be a missing foundational understanding of what the arrival of Mach 10 precision munitions mean for warfare. In trying to get behind the hyperbole of hypersonics, Peter Roberts talked to Bryan Rosselli about speed, accuracy, range, manoeuvrability, and defense - plus what comes after. A knowledge primer for these weapons.

Alice Billon-Galland explains to Peter Roberts what a forward-looking reflective exercise is (for NATO), and what this issues are between NATO and the EU. They get into why patchwork military structures have emerged in the last 5 years, and whether a single European vision of security and defence is even possible (whether meaningful or not). Fractured Euro-Atlantic? Still not quite sure. Great conversation from one of the best young minds around.

Given the discussion of 'sunset' capabilities and the growing feeling in Brussels that the UK has a credibility problem inside NATO, Peter talks to Mungo Melvin (military historian and former soldier), about the dangers of thin-slicing history to draw conclusions about military capability requirements for the future. Mungo characterises the Western Way of Warfare as a dichotomy between what we want wars to looks like, and those we actually have to fight. A fascinating and illuminating conversation.

Peter Roberts is joined by Heather Conley from CSIS to talk INF, START, Open Skies, Coalitions of the Committed and the diversification of dependencies. The episode poses the question as to whether US (and European) structures are fit to fight, covering Russia's destabilising activities, and Chinese ambitions in the Arctic, plus the D10 as as a more resilient framework for the future. Lots to get through!

Peter Roberts talks to John Louth, Defence Acquisition guru, about the military-industrial relationship, balance sheets, not winging it, the conspiracy of optimism, the cost of technology, speed/pace/acceleration in procurement, and the futility of importing alternative models. There is no nirvana here, and better acquisition seems to require a change in culture, decision-making, and a conscious decision not to wing it. Considering the topic, remarkably free of jargon.

The West has been losing wars for too long and needs to change, suggests James Heappey MP, UK Minister for the Armed Forces. Peter Roberts talks to the former soldier-turned politician about people, the future operating environment, the UK's Integrating Operating Concept, the enduring fog of war, and what needs to change. The discussion culminates in a recognition that decisions over military force structures (between those designed for below threshold conflict, and those for deterring major war) cannot wait any longer. It sets high expectations for the UK's Integrated Review over the coming months.

The West (a contested concept in itself) has been misunderstanding the relationship between wars and religion for too long, contends Ziya Meral. Framed this way makes for a different interpretation of conflicts settings from BokoHaram, ISIS, and the Taliban to the Eastern Med. The conversation follows a journey from the mil/academic relationship to contemporary Western Values. Kicking problems down the road turns out to a defining feature of the Western Way of War.

The commanders place in the Western Way of War from Boudica to Montgomery, the rise of the professional soldier, luck and talent, and strategic vision. Leaning on the Romans, the abnormal view of warfare, and defence in depth, Peter Roberts talks to Michael Clarke about how to recognise great commander, and why the British military don't have time to cultivate them (when other states do so much better at creating an ecosystem that brings them to the fore). Some cracking nuggets and entertaining research from a master storyteller.

Do Values define a Western Way of Warfare? Does the military understand the media? What motivates Western politicians to make decisions? Lucy Fisher (Defence Editor of The Times) joins Peter Roberts to talk about the 2013 Syria vote in UK Parliament, the revered status of Western militaries, and ignoring social media.

Does a successful and respected professional military force make a conversation with society at large over security and insurmountable conversation? Do government narratives over military threats alienate audiences? Elisabeth Braw and Peter Roberts take about preppers, supply chains, a Western concept of peace, and the lack of imagination in politics.

Peter Roberts talks to chem/bio warfare guru Dan Kaszeta about the journey from weevils to sarin, political biological poisonings since 2000BCE, food security as a catalyst for chemical weapon research, and a reappraisal of President Nixon. Busting some preconceptions and becoming more optimistic for the future was not what we expected from this episode.

Peter Roberts talks to US scholar-practitioner Dr Pete Mansoor (author of 'Baghdad at Sunrise', 'Surge', and 'The Culture of Military Organisations') about the Western Way of Warfare from the Peloponnesian war to Iraq: competition, economics, technology, logistics, and escalatory concepts. Plus some advice to those starting PME courses.

States adopting a Western Way of War face challenges of opposing strategic culture that necessitate the blending of Eastern and Western theories of strategy. Chilean general John Griffiths talks to Peter Roberts about how success can be forged into a coherent strategy in such powers, accelerated by Great Power competition in the Indo-Pacific.

Peter Roberts talks to Francois Villiaumey, formerly Deputy Director of Ecole de Guerre in Paris, about the Western Way of War from Charlemange to Eisenhower, the fallacy of linear doctrines, and why the law of the victor is a clearer end state to achieve militarily. Plus, advice for those starting PME course next month.

After 'shock and awe', and the linear approach airforce planning, Stuart Atha talks to Peter Roberts about synchronisation, harmonisation, strategic integration, using hard power to burst A2AD bubbles, and air power as a political tool. Plus, the usual question about how adversaries play the game.

Peter Roberts talks drones, human control, and mowing the lawn with Dr Ulrike Franke. A great intro to the future of drone warfare, surveillance, aerial technology, remote warfare, and the offence/defence balance of air power in the future.

Peter Roberts talks to Dr Peter Layton from Australia on compromised air platform design, how you might conduct operations against a China-style adversary, and why the F35 was the perfect platform for the wars of the last two decades.

Tobias Ellwood (Chair UK Parliament's Defence Committee) talked to Peter Roberts about how political views on the military have changed (risk averse, reactive, lacklustre), the 'Special relationship', pandemic response, Trump, and moving from an operational design focused on punishment to one that denies. Russia, China, Iran, terrorism, and cyber threats, and why global institutions are obsolete. Plus, the lack of military leadership in the UK.

The Israeli model of warfare: what can the West learn? Wilf Owen and Peter Roberts discuss why Western Power have sleep walked into a way of fighting suitable for "The Second XI", but just won't work against peer adversaries, and what needs to happen to change that. Covering the realities of live training and combat experience, logistics, threat driven force-development, Operation Tethered Goat, and the death of superiority.

Military relationships (industrial and international), partnerships, martial habits, and why interoperability with the US alone won't solve the problem with the lack of a Western War of Warfare. Peter Roberts and Philip Osborn go at it.

A wide ranging discussion in which Peter Roberts talks to Frank Hoffman about decisive battles, concepts of victory, strategic culture, divergence, societal risks, militaries as ubiquitous political tools, the 7th industrial revolution (augmentation), an offence/defence division of labour, and a glimpse at Hoffman's new 4 faces of future warfare.

Peter Roberts and Philip Jones talk about why it is people that represent the competitive edge in the Western Way of Warfare - and have done for centuries, and how technology is supporting but not necessarily dominant.

Peter Roberts and David Richards discuss the ten commandments of the manoeuvrist approach to warfare, thinking of weapons as servants not principles, the enduring nature of challenge, and the British Way of Warfare as 'The absence of mass'.

Peter Roberts and Nina Kollars talk futurology, exceptionalism, decisive engagements, pathology, winnable fights, and vapourware, all in the pursuit of a more pragmatic view on the Western Way of Warfare.

Peter Roberts and Graeme Lamb talk about the Western Way of Warfare from the Elizabethan Era to today's Great Power Competition. Failing to adapt, superiority, advantage, and moving from 'Force on Force' to 'Force on Will'.

What is the Western Way of War? Is there one? How did it come about? Is it war or warfare (and what is the difference)? In this trailer to the new podcast from RUSI, we tackle these issues and others, mapping the origins of the term, to why the current discussions are perhaps misguided and immature.