Social Science of War

Optimists argue that alliances are a source of strength for American foreign policy, lending significant advantage over competitors like China. Skeptics argue that the United States overpays and overextends itself in its alliances, and should instead take on fewer commitments and encourage its allies to bear more of the burden. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of a more coercive approach to US alliances? What are best practices for US alliance management? How do these dynamics play out in the Indo-Pacific—a region of increasing importance to contemporary US foreign policy? To explore these questions, Dr. Alexandra Chinchilla is joined on this episode by Dr. Brian Blankenship, whose book The Burden-Sharing Dilemma: Coercive Diplomacy in US Alliance Politics forms the basis of the discussion, along with Dr. Nathan Finney and Mr. Chuck Casey, both of whom bring extensive professional experience in the Indo-Pacific region to the conversation.

Last September, the Harding Project launched with the objective of renewing professional writing in the US Army. A priority of General Randy George, the Army chief of staff, the project is built on the premise that professional discourse will produce a more ready force, one prepared to meet the challenges it will confront as the character of warfare evolves more and more rapidly. In this episode, Major Gabe Royal is joined by Lieutenant Colonel Zachary Griffiths, the director of the Harding Project, and Dr. Nora Bensahel, a professor of practice at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies who also serves as a contributing editor and columnist for War on the Rocks and has taught in the Army Strategic Education Program. Together, they describe why a culture of writing is not only a hallmark of a strong Army profession but is vital to enable the service to identify and solve problems.

Every four years, Americans choose a new commander-in-chief. US presidents have significant authority to use force, manage a global network of alliances and partnerships, as well as direct American grand strategy. How do voters decide who they want to be commander-in-chief? To explore that question, Dr. Alexandra Chinchilla is joined on this episode by three guests who have studied and written extensively about it. Dr. Jeffrey Friedman is an associate professor of government at Dartmouth College and author of The Commander in Chief Test. Dr. Kori Schake is the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a former senior official in the State and Defense Departments and at the National Security Council, and coeditor of Warriors & Citizens: American Views of Our Military. And Dr. Andrew Payne is a lecturer in foreign policy and security at City, University of London and the author of War on the Ballot: How the Election Cycle Shapes Presidential Decision-Making in War.

The views expressed in this episode are those of the participants and do not reflect those of the United States Military Academy, the US Army, or any agency of the US government.

After the US-led coalition's invasion of Iraq and defeat of Iraqi forces in conventional operations, a series of new challenges arose. How can security forces be rebuilt and strengthened, for example, and how can peace and governance be restored? This episode is the second in a two-part discussion with Dr. Isaiah "Ike" Wilson. An Army veteran and scholar of the war in Iraq, he is the author of the book Thinking Beyond War. In this episode, he describes the challenges US forces faced in Iraq and highlights a number of lessons from the conflict—lessons that he says the US military has "gathered" but not yet fully learned. As the episode concludes, the discussion zooms out to take a broader look at the Middle East and the United States' missions in the region.

More than twenty-one years ago, when a US-led coalition invaded Iraq, the 101st Airborne Division was a key element of the operation. Dr. Isaiah "Ike" Wilson was an Army officer and the division's chief of plans. He later authored a book, Thinking Beyond War, that chronicled lessons learned from the experience. He joins this episode, the first in a two-part series, to reflect on the invasion. The discussion begins with an examination of prewar estimates of troop requirements and continues by drawing out important lessons from the war on counterinsurgency and security force assistance. It also uses the early post-9/11 years as a framework to discuss Israel's current conflict with Hamas.

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Technology is rapidly changing the modern battlefield, making it crucial for armies to adapt how they think, fight, and train. But what should that adaptation look like? How can the US Army, for example, evolve at the tactical level to both meet the challenges and leverage the opportunities brought about by advancing technology? How should Army leaders and other decision-makers approach the hard choices they face—about everything from procurement to force structure to commitments across Europe and Asia? And what will be required to achieve deterrence in an era of rapid change? To explore these questions, Dr. Alexandra Chinchilla is joined on this episode by retired General Robert Abrams, Dr. Jack Watling, and Major Ryan Van Wie.

Are current trends in civil-military relations antithetical to healthy democratic norms? What can be done to ensure the civil-military relationship is a healthy one? And most fundamentally, how are Americans' views of the proper delineation of civilian and military authority changing? Dr. Ron Krebs is a professor of political science at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Scott Limbocker is an assistant professor of American politics at West Point. Both guests focus their research on critical issues related to civil-military relations and they join Major Gabriel Royal on this episode to explore these deeply important questions.

Most discussions about Western support to Ukraine and its defense against Russia centers on materiel—artillery shells, F-16s, and a wide range of equipment. While these weapons and systems are crucial for Ukraine to continue its war effort, there is an additional consideration that often gets overlooked: defense reform, particularly how the West can help. Dr. Alexandra Chinchilla hosts this episode, and she is joined by Dr. Polina Beliakova and Donald Bowser. Each guest brings deep expertise on both Ukraine and governance. They explain how defense reform would address corruption in procurement and military recruitment that are inhibiting its military effectiveness today—and why it is crucial to Ukraine’s long-term defense.

How is increased nonstate actor access to drones impacting war today? That deeply challenging question is the focus of the first episode in the new season of Social Science of War. As always, the podcast sets out to bring together guests from both academia and the practitioner and policy worlds to apply cutting-edge scholarship to real-world challenges. Dr. Nakissa Jahanbani hosts this episode and is joined by retired Lieutenant General Ken Tovo, a former commanding general of US Special Operations Command, Dr. Kerry Chávez, a political science instructor at Texas Tech University, and Mr. Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

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Since Samuel Huntington introduce the concept of objective control in his 1957 book The Soldier and the State, it has been the model of civil-military relations taught most widely in US professional military education. And yet the concept is not without critics. This episode features a fascinating discussion about civil-military relations, using Huntington’s model as a starting point before exploring topics such as partisanship in the military, what role service members should play in public discourse, and how to establish oversight over a military that is widely regarded as one of the most trusted institutions in American society. Host Kyle Atwell is joined by three guests for the discussion: Dan Helmer, a delegate in the Virginia House of Delegates and Army lieutenant colonel who teaches in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point; Major Michael Robinson, a recent assistant professor in the Social Sciences Department at West Point and author of Dangerous Instrument: Political Polarization and US Civil-Military Relations; and Dr. Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute who has served in the State Department, in the Defense Department, and on the National Security Council and coedited, with General Jim Mattis, the book Warriors and Citizens: American View of Our Military.

The US military and those of its allies are faced with the challenges of shifting focus toward great power competition while still maintaining the ability to counter threats on the fringes. Where does the Army fit in this new strategic landscape? What are the broader implications for land forces? What constitutes success in competition? And what role does irregular warfare play in deterring near-peer competitors? This episode addresses these questions and more and features a fascinating conversation with General James C. McConville, chief of staff of the US Army, and Professor Peter Roberts, a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

In the previous episode of the Social Science of War, our guests explored the strategic and political dynamics of NATO. This episode continues the focus on European security, turning specifically to the tactical and operational lessons on display in the war in Ukraine. It features a discussion with three expert guests: retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, the former commander of US Army Europe; Major Ryan Van Wie, a former assistant professor in West Point's Department of Social Sciences currently deployed as part of Operation European Assure, Deter, and Reinforce; and Dr. Jack Watling, senior research fellow for land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute.

From mission command to logistics and from air defense to the synchronization of combined arms, our guests explore the tactical-level lessons emerging from Ukraine. They then turn to a discussion of the theory and practice of conventional deterrence, and how the United States can best posture its forces in Europe to deter future aggression.

How would the United States and its NATO allies fight together in a great power war? How does burden sharing between NATO members shape alliance dynamics? And what lessons can NATO learn from the ongoing war in Ukraine? In this first part of a two-episode series examining land warfare in Europe, our focus is on the strategic and political dynamics of NATO. Part two will be released in two weeks and will examine tactical and operational lessons from the war.

Kyle Atwell is joined by two guests on this episode. Dr. Benedetta Berti is the head of policy planning in the office of NATO's secretary general whose research focuses on foreign policy and security. Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Becker is an assistant professor in West Point's Department of Social Sciences who has held positions at NATO headquarters and the US mission to NATO and has authored multiple publications on transatlantic burden sharing and the political economy of European security.

This episode tackles the subject of proxy warfare—specifically its role in a strategic environment characterized by great power competition. Why do states engage in proxy warfare? How does what scholars call principal-agent theory explain the way proxy warfare actually plays out—particularly the challenges that arise when the interests of a principal and a proxy diverge? And as the US military continues to prepare for large-scale combat operations, how should the ability to leverage proxies factor into planning? For the US Army in particular, these questions are vital.

To explore them, host Kyle Atwell is joined by three guests. Dr. Nakissa Jahanbani is an assistant professor in West Point's Department of Social Sciences and a researcher at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. Dr. Vladimir Rauta is a lecturer in politics and international relations at the University of Reading and the editor of the forthcoming Routledge Handbook of Proxy Wars. And retired Lieutenant General Ken Tovo served for almost forty years in the Army, including as commanding general of US Army Special Operations Command.

This episode examines the role of military power not only to fight wars but also to attract and influence partners and allies. Known as shaping, these activities include multinational training exercises with foreign militaries, establishing US military basing around the world, security force assistance and military aid, and more. Given the National Defense Strategy places a high priority on the US alliance and partner network, shaping is an essential concept to understand how the United States leverages the US Army to strengthen its relationships.

To discuss the topic, host Kyle Atwell is joined by three guests. Dr. Brian Blankenship is an assistant professor of political science at the University of Miami who has published extensively on alliance burden-sharing and reassurance. Retired Brigadier General Kim Field is the director of strategy, plans, and policy at US Special Operations Command, has held a number of senior positions both in the Army and in the Department of State, and is a previous assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. And Major Kyle Wolfley is a US Army strategist at US Cyber Command, a recent assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences, and the author of Military Statecraft and the Rise of Shaping in the World.

This episode looks back at twenty years of the US-led war in Afghanistan to find lessons for the US Army. How should the war inform the way we make strategy going forward? What are the keys to effective security force assistance? And is it possible to disrupt the US government's tendency to overmilitarize efforts from the tactical to the strategic level? Three guests join this episode to discuss these questions and more.

Retired Lieutenant General Doug Lute has had a long and distinguished career culminating in a series of senior positions, including US permanent representative to NATO, and is currently the Robert F. McNamara distinguished chair at West Point's Department of Social Sciences. Dr. Jason Lyall is an associate professor in the Department of Government at Dartmouth College, has conducted fieldwork in Afghanistan as a scholar, and is the author of the book Divided Armies: Inequality and Battlefield Performance. And Major Sam Wilkins is a US Army Special Forces officer who served in Afghanistan, has written about the rise and fall of Village Stability Operations there, and currently teaches international affairs in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point.

This episode of Social Science of War examines a range of issues related to Army talent management—from the ways in which service in the Army impacts a soldier’s earning potential to how the Army is responding to its current recruiting crisis. To do so, Kyle Atwell is joined by two guests who bring both deeply relevant military experience and leading academic research to bear on these important subjects. Command Sergeant Major Faith Alexander is the senior enlisted advisor at the Army Enterprise Marketing Office and Lieutenant Colonel Kyle Greenberg is an academy professor for economics in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point and the director of long-term research for the Army’s Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis.

Among the topics this episode addresses, our guests discuss a recently published article, "Army Service in the All-Volunteer Era," coauthored by Lieutenant Colonel Greenberg, which you can read here.

This episode of the Social Science of War podcast examines the challenges posed by cyber threats to the United States and how the nation and Army are adapting to the cyber domain. To do so, host Kyle Atwell is joined by Colonel Candice E. Frost, commander of the Joint Intelligence Operations Center at US Cyber Command, and Major Margeret Smith, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point and a researcher at the Army Cyber Institute. They begin by outlining a few of the key characteristics of the cyber domain before explaining why cyber operations often favor the defense, particularly given how challenging and resource intensive planning cyber offensive operations can be. They then discuss how the Army fits into the US national response to cyber threats to include the role of hunt-forward teams working with US partners and allies overseas. They conclude with recommendations for how noncyber military leaders should approach the cyber domain at the tactical and operational levels during both peacetime and in potential large-scale combat operations.

Read more about this episode on the MWI website, including recent works by Major Smith that served as the basis for this conversation!

This is the very first episode of a new podcast from the Department of Social Sciences at West Point: Social Science of War. In it, host Kyle Atwell is joined by retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, former commanding general of US Army Europe, and Dr. Rob Person, an associate professor of international affairs at West Point. They tackle a timely and important question: What are the implications for the future of land warfare from the ongoing war in Ukraine? Combining both deep practical experience with European security and scholarship on Russia, grand strategy, and international political economy, our guests' leverage their expertise and unique perspectives to shed light on this critical topic.