Best Royal United Services Institute Podcasts (2023)

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Suspicious Transaction Report

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Disinformation and Political Warfare 33:03

2h ago33:03

33:03

Disinformation is not new, but it has certainly evolved. Today, it is strongly linked to international security, as malign actors seize on it to pursue their own strategic interests. Are democracies equipped to navigate this new landscape of political warfare? Host Alanna Putze is joined by Monika Richter of the American Foreign Policy Council and …

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War in Space

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Episode 29: Moving from Geopolitics to ‘Astropolitics’ 25:01

4h ago25:01

25:01

Tim Marshall, author of the Prisoners of Geography series, joins us to discuss the geopolitics of space – ‘astropolitics’. But what is astropolitics exactly? And in the geography of space, what are the most contested areas? Marshall talks to us about why the South Pole of the Moon could be of future economic importance, and why commercial entities …

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Global Security Briefing

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Saudi Arabia: A Changing Kingdom? 48:41

1h ago48:41

48:41

As the contours of a new Saudi Arabia emerge under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, we analyse domestic and foreign policy reforms in a changing Kingdom. Saudi Arabia is arguably the most powerful Arab country, and one of the key regional powers in the Middle East today. But Saudi Arabia’s importance goes far beyond the region. Its territory inclu…

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Suspicious Transaction Report

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Emerging Security Challenges: NATO Adapts 33:32

33m ago33:32

33:32

Hybrid warfare is on the rise. From cyber and disruptive technologies to energy security and economic interconnectedness, malign actors have an array of domains to exploit. How has NATO adapted, and can it be nimble enough to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving threat landscape? Host Tom Keatinge is joined by James Appathurai, NATO’s Deputy Assistant …

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Global Security Briefing

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Whither the UK-Africa Relationship? 36:55

7d ago36:55

36:55

As geopolitical competition intensifies, we look at the future trajectory of the UK–Africa relationship. For over two decades, international conversations about Africa were dominated by Western aid and preoccupations with the Global War on Terrorism. But recently, with great and middle powers visibly competing for influence across Africa, a new lay…

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War in Space

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Episode 28: To Own, or to Collaborate and Access? That is the Question 25:47

15d ago25:47

25:47

Is the UK taking the space threat seriously? How does one protect space assets from threats and balance reliance on commercial providers with the ’price point’ and broader financial burdens inherent in sovereign infrastructures? Nik Smith, Regional Director UK & Europe at Lockheed Martin Space, talks to us about space threats, lessons from Ukraine,…

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Suspicious Transaction Report

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The State-Crime Nexus: Spotlight on Russia 34:28

12d ago34:28

34:28

How are organised crime and illicit finance exploited as vectors of state-based threats? This episode focuses on Russia and the unique capabilities it gains via illicit proceeds, including the power to subsidise occupation. Host Stephen Reimer is joined by Tena Prelec of the University of Oxford and Rowan Newman of the UK government's Serious and O…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E12: Petraeus’s ‘Big Four’: Brainstorm, Communicate, Implement, Assess 40:52

15d ago40:52

40:52

To conclude Season Three of Talking Strategy, US Army General (ret.) Dr David Petraeus shares with us his philosophy about making good strategy. A scholarly soldier with a long and varied career, he commanded the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan in 2010–11 and subsequently served as director of the CIA. General Petraeus’s expe…

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Global Security Briefing

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Finland, the UK and Northern European Security 42:30

21d ago42:30

42:30

In early April, Finland became the newest member of NATO, significantly changing the Alliance’s northern flank, as well as deeply impacting Nordic and Baltic security in the face of the war in Ukraine. The war has rapidly altered Finnish security policy. Almost immediately after the invasion, public support for NATO membership leaped from a steady …

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Talking Strategy

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S3E11: Raoul Castex: The Servitude of Strategy with Professor Martin Motte 30:24

22d ago30:24

30:24

Raoul Castex (1878–1968) was an active naval officer who theorised widely on strategy. As an advocate of ‘jointness’, he took a comprehensive approach rather than relying on any one service. A child of the predominant geopolitical fashions of his time, Castex was an advocate of keeping diplomats and ministers out of strategy-making during war, of a…

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Suspicious Transaction Report

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Countries for Sale: Latvia? 30:25

26d ago30:25

30:25

Interference and influence – whether in politics, national institutions or boardrooms – has long been an objective of adversaries of democracy, who frequently deploy money in pursuit of their goals. This episode spotlights Latvia, a country that is no stranger to corrupt external influences. CFCS’s Tom Keatinge is joined by journalists Sanita Jembe…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E10: Mao Zedong’s Strategy for Revolutionary War with Professor Steve Tsang 33:23

29d ago33:23

33:23

Professor Steve Tsang joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss the founding father of the Chinese People’s Republic, Mao Zedong. Mao was both a Leninist strategic theorist and the leader of the Chinese Communists in their fight to overthrow the Chinese nationalists – while not exerting themselves too much in the battle against Japanese occupation. There …

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Bridging The Oceans

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Bridging the Oceans Series Finale with Veerle Nouwens 4:21

1M ago4:21

4:21

After over two years, the Bridging the Oceans podcast is coming to an end. Hosted by Veerle Nouwens, this was the first podcast dedicated specifically to the defence and security of the Indo-Pacific, exploring what the region is, where its limits lie, and the fast-evolving nature of defence and security in this dynamic part of the world. Together w…

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Global Security Briefing

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Can AUKUS Deter China? 52:55

1M ago52:55

52:55

Launched against the backdrop of a deteriorating security environment in the Indo-Pacific, will AUKUS prove an effective counterbalance to Chinese dominance in the region? AUKUS, the tripartite deal between the US, the UK and Australia, caused considerable surprise and French consternation when it was announced in 2021. It involves acquiring a new …

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Talking Strategy

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S3E9: Sir Michael Quinlan and British Nuclear Strategy with Dr Tanya Ogilvie-White & Dr Kristan Stoddart 30:06

1M ago30:06

30:06

With a serious commitment to the ‘Just War’ tradition, Sir Michael Quinlan (1930–2009), chief British nuclear strategist of the late 1970s and 1980s, helped to construct the complex edifice of the British and NATO nuclear deterrence posture. Sir Michael was both a strategic analyst and, as a key British civil servant, a practitioner in so far as hi…

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Suspicious Transaction Report

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Non-State Proxies: The Wagner Group 37:42

1M ago37:42

37:42

What role do non-state proxy groups play in the current global security framework? This episode focuses on the Wagner Group, which has the potential to aid Russian state interests on multiple fronts, and not just on the battlefield. Host Stephen Reimer dives into the murky world of the Wagner Group, state threats and finance with guests Justyna Gud…

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War in Space

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Episode 27: Space During the Cold War: The Strategic Defense Initiative 26:11

1M ago26:11

26:11

In 1983, US President Ronald Reagan announced the Strategic Defense Initiative, which became known as the ‘Star Wars’ programme. But was it really all about space? Dr Aaron Bateman, Assistant Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University (GWU) and member of the Space Policy Institute within the Elliott School of Int…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E8: Continuation of Diplomacy by Other Means: Dietrich von Bülow with Dr Arthur Kuhle 32:36

1M ago32:36

32:36

Dietrich Heinrich von Bülow (1757–1807) was called ‘everything from a conceited crank to the founder of modern military science’ (R R Palmer). Probably the last Prussian strategist to sympathise with the French Revolution, he had a keen interest in the relationship between political aims and war as their instrument, and in geopolitics: he correctly…

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Global Security Briefing

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The Changing Geopolitics of Energy in the MENA Region 46:47

2M ago46:47

46:47

This episode focuses on how global energy trends have shaped the geopolitics of the MENA for much of the past century, and how they will continue to do so. For over two decades, the region seemed to be losing a lot of its energy importance for the West. Both the US and European countries have sought to reduce their involvement in MENA geopolitics, …

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Talking Strategy

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S3E7: T.E. Lawrence: Understanding Irregular Warfare’s Cultural and Human Terrain with Dr Robert Johnson 33:20

2M ago33:20

33:20

Lawrence of Arabia is legendary status, Britain’s most romantic strategic theorist-cum-practitioner; as ‘al-Lorans’, he won the hearts of many Arabs in their fight for independence from the Ottoman Empire during the First World War. Dr Rob Johnson, the author of T.E. Lawrence’s most recent biography, joins Beatrice and Paul for this week’s episode.…

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Suspicious Transaction Report

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The Financial Dimensions of State Threats 36:34

2M ago36:34

36:34

Are the UK and its allies sufficiently equipped to tackle today’s threats from hostile state actors? And how might placing those threats under a financial lens help to shape responses? Host Tom Keatinge is joined by RUSI Associate Fellow and Senior Specialist at the House of Commons Ashlee Godwin, and Jonathan Evans, former Director General of MI5.…

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Bridging The Oceans

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The Future of US-China Relations 37:27

2M ago37:27

37:27

The recent annual meetings of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the National People’s Congress (NPC) – the ‘Two Sessions’ – have already confirmed the national budget, high-level personnel appointments and noted China’s foreign and security outlook. Newly appointed Foreign Minister Qin Gang used tough language when discussi…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E6: Net Assessment as a Tool of Strategy: Andrew Marshall, with Dr Thomas G Mahnken 29:47

2M ago29:47

29:47

Foreign policy strategist Andrew Marshall had a career that spanned seven decades from the late 1940s. He was hailed by a former KGB officer as ‘the grey cardinal, the éminence grise’ of the US revolution of military affairs, and as ‘the great hero’ of Chinese officers tracking developments in US military technology, claiming they had translated ev…

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Global Security Briefing

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Has the UK Found a New Post-Brexit Foreign and Security Policy? 46:54

2M ago46:54

46:54

Following the announcement of the ‘Windsor Framework’ between the UK and Brussels over Northern Ireland’s trading arrangements - ending the most bitter Brexit dispute - there is a palpable sense that the UK may have turned a corner in its relations with the EU. With the UK taking a leading role in support of Ukraine and in more broadly countering R…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E5: Kautilya: India’s Forerunner to Machiavelli? with Professor Kaushik Roy 32:26

2M ago32:26

32:26

Kautilya lived in India from 375 to 283 BC. He ranks alongside Sun Tzu as one of the great early sages who wrote about the relations between polities, and thus also about wars between them. Kaushik Roy, Guru Nanak Chair Professor at Jadavpur University, India, joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss his work. Kautilya’s approach to strategy included an …

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Talking Strategy

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S3E4: Aube and the Jeune Ecole: Strategy for the Weak 29:46

2M ago29:46

29:46

Admiral Arne Røksund joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss a set of French strategists collectively referred to as the Jeune Ecole, ‘the young school’. The Jeune Ecole is considered the counterpoint to many battle-obsessed land strategists and followers of 19th century US naval officer Alfred Thayer Mahan. Leading among the strategists of the Jeune Ec…

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War in Space

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Episode 26: Making History: Helen Sharman's Spaceflight 28:40

3M ago28:40

28:40

With her eight-day mission in 1991, Helen Sharman became the first British person in space. She also became the first woman aboard the Mir Space Station. In this episode, Helen reflects on her training in Star City, and ponders what value human spaceflight brings to us and the evolution of safety in space missions. Looking ahead, what will happen t…

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Global Security Briefing

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A Year of Russia’s War in Ukraine 43:59

3M ago43:59

43:59

As we approach the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Global Security Briefing looks at the effects of the war, the potential risks for escalation, and what to expect in the future. A year after Russia’s full-scale invasion began, the Ukrainian armed forces and population, with strong backing from a coalition of allies, have managed to …

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Talking Strategy

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S3E3: John Warden: Lord of the Five Rings with Col Dr John Andreas Olsen 31:41

3M ago31:41

31:41

John Warden III was an exceptionally influential air power strategist whose name is inextricably connected with Operation Desert Storm, the 1991 coalition campaign to free Kuwait after the Iraqi invasion. We discuss his influence with Colonel Dr John Andreas Olsen of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. Warden was a pupil of theorist Carl von Clausewitz,…

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Bridging The Oceans

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India’s Year of Presidencies 27:15

3M ago27:15

27:15

The current year is set to be a significant one for India, as it takes on both the G20 and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) presidencies – two landmark moments for the Modi government ahead of the highly anticipated general elections next year. Host Veerle Nouwens sits down with Garima Mohan, Senior Fellow at the George Marshall Fund, to dis…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E2: C E Callwell: Small Wars and Integrated Sea-Land Operations 31:06

3M ago31:06

31:06

Historian Dr Daniel Whittingham joins Beatrice and Paul for a conversation about Major-General Sir Charles Edward Callwell (1859–1928). An unabashed British imperialist, Callwell’s views are strongly reflected in his writings on Small Wars, by which he meant counterinsurgency operations. Callwell started his career as an artillery officer, and then…

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Global Security Briefing

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A New War Over Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus? 50:05

4M ago50:05

50:05

With growing uncertainty about the regional power balance in Nagorno-Karabakh, we analyse the concerns that another conflict could erupt. For nearly 30 years, the confrontation over landlocked Nagorno-Karabakh persisted through numerous rounds of negotiations and a massive regional arms build-up between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In 2020, Azerbaijan l…

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Talking Strategy

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S3E1: Jomini: Selling Napoleon’s System with Professor Antulio Echevarria 31:20

3M ago31:20

31:20

Antoine-Henri Jomini was the strategist who anticipated Napoleon’s movements – and the general who betrayed the emperor by defecting to the Russians for a better position. He was among the most widely read strategists of land warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. To kick off Season 3 of Talking Strategy, Beatrice Heuser and Paul O’Neil…

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Financial Crime Insights

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Ukraine’s Reconstruction: Ensuring Transparency 34:07

3M ago34:07

34:07

Transparency will be key to managing Ukraine's reconstruction, both ensuring the efficient use of resources, and in maintaining the trust of the international community. CFCS Director Tom Keatinge joins Oleksii Dorohan, CEO of the Better Regulation Delivery Office–a Ukrainian think tank–to discuss why Ukraine must establish a strong anti-money laun…

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War in Space

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Episode 25: Tech vs Strategy? The Beginnings of the US Space Force 28:13

4M ago28:13

28:13

What is the main driver of change - technology or strategy? Which one should it be? Kim Crider, former US Space Force Chief Technology and Innovation Officer and current Managing Director, AI Innovation for National Security and Defence at Deloitte, talks to us about the early days of the US Space Force and how one integrates tech, science and mili…

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Global Security Briefing

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The New Geopolitics of the Antarctic 34:08

4M ago34:08

34:08

After decades of peace, the Antarctic is emerging as a zone for future geopolitical competition. While recent years have seen a growing international focus on the Arctic, the Earth’s southernmost region – governed by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty – has appeared divorced from wider polar tensions. However, in the last decade, China has expanded its pres…

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Talking Strategy

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S2E12: A Practitioner’s View: Competitive Strategy with Mick Ryan 33:16

4M ago33:16

33:16

Recently retired Major General Mick Ryan sits down with Beatrice and Paul for the Series 2 finale of Talking Strategy. Mick is an experienced strategist, having worked at high levels in this capacity in the Australian and US militaries. During his career, he commanded at platoon, squadron, regiment, task force and brigade levels in the Australian A…

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Global Security Briefing

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Seasonal Special: Trends in International Security 2022-2023 Part 2 39:42

4M ago39:42

39:42

To welcome in the new year, the International Security Studies team at RUSI reviews the biggest stories from 2022 and what to look out for in 2023. In the second instalment of the two-part seasonal special, host Neil Melvin is joined by Tobias Borck, Carlos Solar and Simon Rynn to discuss key developments in the Middle East, Latin America and Afric…

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Talking Strategy

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S2E11: General André Beaufre: The Two Axes of Deterrence with Brigadier General Dr Hervé Pierre 33:36

4M ago33:36

33:36

Brigadier General Dr Hervé Pierre joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss the 20th century French strategist General André Beaufre, who defined strategy as ‘the art of applying force so that it makes the most effective contribution towards achieving the ends set by political policy’. General Beaufre (1902–1975) said strategy is the ‘art of the dialectic…

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Talking Strategy

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S2E10: The Captain who Taught Generals: Basil Liddell Hart 30:51

4M ago30:51

30:51

Basil Liddell Hart (1895-1970) was described by President John F. Kennedy as the “captain who taught generals”. Dr Bradley Potter joins Beatrice and Paul to discuss Liddell Hart, captain of the First World War who took to writing about war with the aim of preventing a repetition of its great slaughter. The tools of strategy explored by Liddell Hart…

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Global Security Briefing

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Seasonal Special: Trends in International Security 2022–2023 Part 1 43:50

5M ago43:50

43:50

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War in Space

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Episode 24: Ukraine: The First Commercial Space War? 31:49

5M ago31:49

31:49

With private space tech companies such as Starlink and Maxar making headlines during the Ukraine war, how have they affected the battlefield? And to what extent is the involvement of private companies new? Professor Jeremy Grunert, Assistant Professor of Law at the US Air Force Academy, answers these questions and more in the context of internation…

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Bridging The Oceans

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China’s Quest for Control at Home and Abroad 42:13

5M ago42:13

42:13

Tough times lie ahead for Beijing, with a turbulent external environment now matched with domestic unrest. To round out 2022, Veerle and Dr Sheena Chestnut Greitens, Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, UT Austin, reflect on a turbulent year for China policy. From a downward spiral in Sino-US relations and tensions over Taiwan, …

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Talking Strategy

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Bonus: Reflections on a Pedagogy for Strategy with Emilie Cleret 32:38

5M ago32:38

32:38

In this festive special, Beatrice and Paul reflect on the lessons from their meanderings across the strategic landscape over the past 20 episodes of Talking Strategy. What is very clear is that, ultimately, commanders must still be able to make sense of the complex environment they are facing – and not just a military one. Military command remains …

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