Western Way of War

Professor Eliot Cohen, the doyen of grand strategy, talks to Peter Roberts about how the Western idea of war and warfare has changed to one with a 'purposive' nature, reflecting a society unaccustomed to the destruction and chaos of combat, and dissects the important questions that political leaders should be posing to military commanders, but rarely do.

Dr Jenni Cole, biological anthropologist and public health policy guru, talks to Peter Roberts about pandemics, climate change and civil defence. The discussion covers the psychological barriers of the 'Dragons of Inaction', as well as why the military must learn to include better CivPop participation in their exercises. A must for those starting staff college soon.

Opening Season 3 of the podcast, Peter Roberts talks to General (retd) James Mattis, US Marine Corps, former US Secretary of Defense, about the military as guardians of values, war as a chameleon, celebrating mavericks, and attitude as the primary weapons system of successful militaries.

WWOW host Peter Roberts covers the five big themes of Season 2: The American Way of War – what went wrong and course corrections; continuity of concepts rather than radical change; systemic challenges in constructing concepts of fighting; how adversaries are preparing to fight wars; and the problems in ending conflicts. There is more optimism than you might expect and, with some of the most popular bits from the last six months, this smash-up of ‘everything warfare’ might go down a little bit like marmite.

RUSI Land Warfare scholar Jack Watling talks to Peter Roberts about the conclusions from his paper on the challenges facing Special Forces over the coming two decades. With the threat from state competitors now exceeding that of non-state actors, he explains that Special Forces will need to adapt their ways of operating, missions and tasking. This is backed with lessons from history and an analysis of alternative force models, offering new solutions to decision-makers.

Many governments watched the display of US military power in 1991, and again in 2003, and were awestruck. For some, this was a wake-up call that had far reaching consequences. Elsa B Kania, China military expert at the Center for a New American Security, explains the significance to Peter Roberts in terms of People’s Liberation Army modernisation across fighting arms, as well as how we need to understand potential vulnerabilities and weaknesses based on the slower accompanying cultural change among those in uniform in China.

The Russian military’s build-up around Ukraine between February and April 2021 was the topic of much media speculation. Russia analyst Michael Kofman and Peter Roberts pull apart the military timelines and deployments, drawing insights to better shape the Western way of war for the future.

Emma Sky, Political Advisor to US Generals Odierno and Petraeus between 2007 and 2010, talks to Peter Roberts about what we need to learn from our experiences of endless wars in the Middle East and how to utilise that in an era of strategic competition with China.

As modern military systems increasingly rely on software coding to achieve virtual effects, the question of how one knows whether these weapons work becomes more difficult to answer – at least when compared to the old physical testing that validated weapons systems. Retired US Navy Rear Admiral Archer Macy talks to Peter Roberts about testing and evaluation, the pathological state of machines and our need for evidence.

The 18th Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, talks to Peter Roberts about how to deal with tensions and friction in civil–military relations within alliances. The discussion starts with why status quo powers are not as effective in using their power to shape conflict as revolutionary ones, and  turns into a lament on how any compromise has become regarded as a failure.

Former US Under Secretary for Defence for Policy Michèle Flournoy talks to Peter Roberts about technology, concepts, young minds and competitive spaces in warfare. The conversation is predicated on the idea of obeying the just war principles until deterrence fails. Thereafter, we (the West) want a distinctly unfair fight.

Peter Maurer, the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, sees no distinction between how the West and other belligerents wage war. In discussion with Professor Peter Roberts, Dr Maurer evinces a grimmer reality in which the cumulative effects of climate change, poverty and poor governance combine with the ‘democratisation’ of access to sophisticated weapons, which are now held by a multitude of actors. The result is a modern battlefield torn asunder by precision weapons, one which more resembles Armageddon than ideas of the beautiful ’surgical’ use of force that are often rehashed by military and political leaders. Sobering stuff. 

The cycle of "old wars" between nation states, followed by revolutionary wars and culminating during the 20th century into wars between communities was graphically described and codified by Professor Mary Kaldor in her "New Wars, Old Wars" theory. In this episode, she reflects with Peter Roberts on how this cycle works in contemporary politics. The dialogue then moves into a discussion on human security and the individualisation of conflict, and wraps up with some thoughtful conclusions about what this might mean for today's militaries. Top tip: it is not about increased lethality.

The truth universally acknowledged is that Western militaries seem to deliberately discard useful experience faster than they can accumulate it. Changing such a process in a way that builds better military capability requires leadership, not management. Such lessons can be learned faster under fire, according to Ben Barry in this conversation with Peter Roberts.

Western military personnel often feel that laws restrict the way they can undertake warfare. Dr Janina Dill, Oxford University's expert in war law and ethics, explains why this restrictive view is wrong and how law can empower tactics on the battlefield. Peter Roberts explores with her how law can enable more than it already does on operations, in ways currently more familiar to Russian and Chinese military commanders than to Western ones. This is as much a philosophical conversation as it is a legal one. Be prepared to grapple with your conscience.

Since war is a reciprocal relationship with the enemy, the idea of a Western Way of Warfare which is detached or abstract from the human adversary is nonsense, argues Sir Hew Strachan.  In conversation with Peter Roberts, one of Britain's foremost military historians discusses 'Carnage and Culture', decisive battles, mobilising societies, fear, loathing and death as a choice on the battlefield.  Sobering stuff.

If the Greeks invented a national style of fighting (according to Herodotus), which the French followed (with élan and martial virtues), and the British deviated from (with the indirect approach), whatever happened to the idea that democracies favour defence over offence? That question, posed by Professor Beatrice Heuser of Glasgow University, starts a fast-paced conversation with Peter Roberts that culminates in a rejoinder that a good peace treaty does not necessarily make for a good peace. Interested in these juxtapositions? Grab your notebook.

Manoeuvre warfare, the manoeuvrist approach, and manoeuverism as military concepts have been revered by Western militaries for half a century, while their lesser-known brethren concepts such as positional and attrition warfare have long been forgotten. Peter Roberts and Amos Fox, a US military theorist, reflect on contemporary conflict against these paradigms and draw some interesting and unexpected conclusions.

Peter Roberts talks to veteran Welsh politician and former President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Madeleine Moon about her reflections on two decades of handling political-military relations, and on the challenge of answering the desire for engagement by younger generations.

Since the Ukraine war of 2014, most Western governments have classified any hostile challenge as 'hybrid', 'sub-threshold', or as actions belonging to the 'grey zone' space, be those of 'little green men' seizing a TV station, or mechanized divisions invading another country. Why is the West so surprised, confused or bamboozled by the actions of competitors? Peter Roberts talks to UK psychological operations expert Ewan Lawson about lazy language, the digital revolution, and the struggle to find coherent responses (and not solely military ones).

It is common to consider nuclear doctrine as a fixed, unmoving and largely successful element of the Western Way of War. Dr Heather Williams talks to Peter Roberts about why this just isn't the case. The pair also debunk some myths about the nuclear domain including the myths surrounding the 'escalate to de-escalate' doctrine, allaying concerns about third party nuclear weapon proliferation. They also address the question of whether AI might bring stability to nuclear decision-making in the future.

Peter Roberts talks to former US Ambassador to Iraq Paul Crocker about the foreign and security policy assumptions of the current Biden administration, and comes to some surprising conclusions.

Technological change is creating an inflection point for Western states that will have radical implications on how they will fight in the future. Even if such rates of change are not so radical, the gap between how the West and adversaries are behaving on the battlefield nonetheless continues to diverge at an alarming rate. Norms and behaviours in contemporary conflict are markedly different to our expectations and it is not clear that the West is adapting in the appropriate way. What does it tell us about the future? Dr Paddy Walker, principal investigator in a new project on 'The Future Rules of Conflict', talks to Peter Roberts about the scope of his important work and where this trend might lead us.

Acknowledging the power of innovation as a driver for building a competitive edge in warfare, new defence policies in the UK and US since 2015 began elevating military innovation as the chief development goal above all other processes. Laura Schousboe from the Royal Danish Defence College explores with Peter Roberts the possibility that this fixation has resulted in “innovation fatigue” in Western militaries, and tests the idea that the faddism over such a language may make innovation itself a toxic subject for future generations.

In this bumper episode, General David Petraeus talks to Peter Roberts about handling national agendas in coalition management, command compression, the pol/mil relations facing a deployed commander and the task of raising your intellectual sights beyond the range of an M16.

Show host Peter Roberts picks some highlights from Season One of the show, with more than a nod to divergent thinking, challenging orthodoxy and listeners' comments. Too many quotable one liners across the series so far to do justice to it all, so browse the back catalogue and catch up with some myth busting lines from unusual quarters. Strap in for Season Two: Welcome to the WWOW 2021!

'Disruptive technology' has surpassed 'innovation' as the de rigour buzzword for policy documents, and a mandatory phrase for successful funding applications. Militaries and defence organisations regard the concept as equal to climate change in their considerations about the future of conflict. Is all this nonsense? Whatever happened to invention? What makes a technology disruptive and not just helpful? Nick Colosimo talks to Peter Roberts.

US military power since 1980 has been one of historical significance. The doctrine of rapid manoeuvre in the deep battle space, by elite armies of professional all-volunteer forces has defined the Western Way of War.

Professor Tony King contends such an era is over, and the future portends one of positional warfare; endless and indecisive campaigns, in a geography that blends deep, close, and rear, requiring a new approach.

The lessons from contemporary conflict, particularly in urban warfare, will challenge the core assumptions on which the West has based its military theology. Heresy? Perhaps. Informed and evidenced analysis? Definitely.

Above all other competitors, Russia is the pre-eminent authority in Electronic Warfare. The US military is trying to catch up with their generational deficit in this domain but there is little sign that the rest of the West is taking it seriously. Decades of poor investment decisions, marginalisation of expertise, and presumptions of technological advantage have led the West to a most precarious position.

Peter Roberts talked to Dave Hewitt about SQEP, data, personalities, and whether the West can catch up. An important conversation, but not one that will leave you full of confidence.

Historically, the British have been averse to funding a standing army, and perhaps that feeling endures today, in the belief that it is possible to raise and train an army to meet any threat in a short time. 

Allan Mallinson contends it takes a decade to generate an army, but a momentary decision to decimate the underpinning culture. 

If the British Way of Warfare has rested for a large part on luck, then the current fad for soothsaying and prophecy about the future of war will have to increasingly rely on it. Plus, the controversial view that stability has more to do with military success than radical change.

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’.