Podcasts · Government · Science

The Ancient Art of Modern Warfare

Chris Mayer National Security and Strategy Consultant

100 episodes

Exploring changes in the practice of war while the fundamental nature and principles of war are unchanging. Includes mercenaries, PMSC, Hybrid Warfare, revolution in military affairs. For in-depth information see my blog at blog.ctmayer.net

Episodes page 1 of 2

  1. Seven Deadly Sins of War (E144)

    · 9:08 · Episode 145

    It seems to be popular to publish lists of five, seven, or more items that represent whatever the author thinks it is important for others to know. For this episode, I decided to go along with this trend. I came up…

  2. Is Just War Theory Obsolete? (E143)

    · 8:31 · Episode 144

    Is Just War Theory still relevant to war and war fighting in the world today? Are the criteria of Just Cause, Right Intent, Legitimate Authority, and Proportionality, and Last Resort tools to restrain nations from…

  3. Just War and Atom Bombs (E142)

    · 13 min · Episode 143

    Every August and September, the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan in 1945 seems to be a topic of discussion. This year, I decided to take that on and place it into the Just War framework, specifically jus in bello, or…

  4. Is Hizballah a Mercenary Organization (E141)

    · 32 min · Episode 142

    The common definition of a mercenary is a soldier paid to fight in an armed conflict for a country that is not his or her own. The terrorist organization Hizballah operates in Lebanon, fighting against Israel, with…

  5. War Is Irrational (E140)

    · 10 min · Episode 141

    Is war rational? The great philosopher of war, Carl von Clausewitz, was a product of three schools of education: the classical tradition of Aristotle, the enlightenment philosophers such as Kant, and the practical…

  6. The Rational Actor Model (E139)

    · 11 min · Episode 140

    Since at least the 1940’s, policy and strategic thinking uses the so-called rational actor model in determining what competitors and partners may do, how to respond to them, and how they may react in return. Even…

  7. Wars of Choice? (E138)

    · 10 min · Episode 139

    I haven’t posted for a few weeks mostly because the current armed conflict with Iran poses a lot of questions that I don’t have answers for. One thing I might have an answer for is the question about wars of choice.…

  8. Cyber-Mercenaries (E136)

    · 17 min · Episode 138

    Any quick net search for the term “cyber mercenary” will result in dozens, if not hundreds of entries. These concerns largely focus on the effect these persons or entities have on personal freedoms, economic activity,…

  9. Ceasefire? (E136)

    · 11 min · Episode 137

    As I post this, the cease-fires in Lebanon and Iran are still holding, and much longer than I expected. We usually think of cease fires as a good thing, enabling humanitarian activity and at least pause the death and…

  10. What is a War Crime? (E135)

    · 10 min · Episode 136

    Every time the United States or Israel use military force, there are immediate claims that those military forces are committing war crimes. I also note that such claims are never made about the opposing side, whether…

  11. Winning and Losing (E134)

    · 8:01 · Episode 135

    The United States is in yet another war. The usual pundits say that we cannot win while others say we have already won. The same people seem to say nearly the same things about Russia’s war in Ukraine. I doubt that…

  12. Beyond IHL: The Law of Neutrality

    · 13 min · Episode 134

    I am not sure, but I think that I mention the Laws and Customs of War in about half of my episodes. (Clausewitz, of course features in almost EVERY episode -- except this one.) There is one part of the Law of War that…

  13. When the Law of War Fails (E132)

    · 11 min · Episode 133

    I believe that the Law of War remains valid in modern warfare and is essential to establishing peace after war. Despite that belief we see States such as Russia and Iran and non-state groups such as Hamas operate in a…

  14. Operation Epic Fury vs. The Powell Doctrine (E131)

    · 14 min · Episode 132

    In podcast episode 128, posted just before Operation Epic Fury began, I outlined how I think that an attack on Iran could be just, necessary, and what I perceived as a path to achieve the goals expressed by the U.S.…

  15. Revisiting Just Cause (E130)

    · 9:27 · Episode 131

    In the last episode, I said that I would compare we know about Operation Epic Fury against the Weinberger-Powell doctrine for the use of American military force. I need to push that off for a week. Current events – and…

  16. The Persian Problem in Practice

    · 11 min · Episode 130

    I keep on trying to podcast about other things and current events keep distracting me. In my previous episode in this series, “The Persian Problem, I described some conditions under which U.S. military action against…

  17. The Persian Problem (E128)

    · 9:42 · Episode 129

    By the time anyone reads or listens to this podcast, the situation with Iran may be completely different than when I write this. In keeping with the intent of this podcast series, however, I thought it might be…

  18. The Morality of Strategic Bombing (E127)

    · 9:42 · Episode 128

    Can strategic bombing of cities ever be justified? In the previous episode of this podcast series (E126), Col. Altieri said that the air force always considers itself revolutionary. Before I began recording, he cited…

  19. A Revolution in Military Affairs? (E126)

    · 26 min · Episode 127

    The philosopher of war, Carl von Clausewitz, described three legs that support the architecture of war: Primordial violence, the play of chance, and reason. Clausewitz aligned the element of chance the military. Every…

  20. Predicting the future...has a rather bad track record (E125)

    · 8:03 · Episode 126

    The inevitable never happens. It is the unexpected always. -- J.M. Keynes 1938 Almost everyone plays with predicting the future. Persons who speak with presumed authority and say that some outlandish thing is…

  21. Greenland (E124)

    · 9:20 · Episode 125

    The idea that we would invade Greenland is about the stupidest idea I ever heard. I find it difficult to believe that anyone believed that implying the United States might use military force was anything other than a…

  22. Disobedience to superior orders? (E123)

    · 11 min · Episode 124

    Recently, there has been controversy over public statements from some politicians about the responsibility of members of the armed forces to disobey unlawful orders. In theory, there should be nothing objectionable…

  23. That Ancient Art of Modern Terrorism Part 6: State Sponsored Terrorism (E122)

    · 8:38 · Episode 123

    This series on Terrorism is wrapping up with the problem of state sponsored terrorism. This form of international terrorism is most clearly a method of warfare, with the state using terrorist organizations as deniable…

  24. Counter-terrorism In Practice (E121)

    · 9:20 · Episode 122

    In the last few episodes, I explained that international terrorism can be considered a war form and how it has been practiced through history. I described that, according to international law, terrorism is a crime and…

  25. Combatting International Terrorism (E120),

    · 9:30 · Episode 121

    If terrorism, unlawfully attacking civilian targets to achieve a political outcome, is a modern war form, a different manner of armed conflict. When terrorist attacks are planned, organized, and operate from a foreign…

  26. Terrorism and War (E119)

    · 8:35 · Episode 120

    I decided to change the trajectory of this series. Rather than continue with the history of terrorism, I am jumping ahead to how terrorism fits within the overarching philosophy of war. The manifestation of terrorism…

  27. Is Terrorism Ancient or a Modern Development? (E118)

    · 7:06 · Episode 119

    This continues my description of terrorism and warfare. The previous episode defined terrorism. This episode traces terroristic attacks from the Bible to the First World War and how it differed from modern terrorism.…

  28. The Ancient Art of Modern Terrorism (E117)

    · 8:50 · Episode 118

    What is terrorism? Is it something as old as warfare or something that has changed the nature of war? Is fighting terrorism the same as counterinsurgency? Despite more than two decades of the so-called War on Terror,…

  29. Can There be Peace in Gaza (E116)

    · 8:01 · Episode 117

    I am reluctant to post much of anything about the current armed conflict in Gaza. As the saying goes, the first casualty in war is the truth, and the truth of this saying is manifest in Gaza. It is almost impossible to…

  30. A Modest Proposal for Peace in Ukraine (E115)

    · 7:45 · Episode 116

    It seems that the time has come in Putin’s war on Ukraine that both sides indicate a willingness to negotiate. But negotiate what? This episode moves on from what is necessary for a sustainable peace, what Putin’s real…

  31. What does Putin want? (E114)

    · 8:28 · Episode 115

    Although diplomacy should not end when fighting begins, there are two conditions in war where one or more parties will seek to negotiate peace. One is when victory looks improbable, the other is when it looks certain.…

  32. Pope Leo and Ending War

    · 8:19 · Episode 114

    Recently, Pope Leo XIV used the anniversary of the atomic bombing that ended WW2 to call for the rejection of war as a means to resolve conflicts. In ending war, or keeping war from breaking out, we must remember that…

  33. Putin's Sledgehammer (E112)

    · 6:14 · Episode 113

    Putin’s Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos, by Professor Candace Rondeaux is a must read for anyone interested learning how Russia came to rely on mercenary-like organizations in…

  34. Nations, States, and Countries (E111)

    · 8:38 · Episode 112

    I am picking up my podcast series where I left off, addressing the challenges of peace. War is an act of violence among nations or states, affecting entire countries. These terms, nations, states, and countries are not…

  35. Moving Forward with the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare (E110)

    · 8:59 · Episode 111

    Now that I have laid the groundwork for what I think everyone needs to know about war, I can digress and address current topics of interest, placing them in the framework of the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare. In this…

  36. E109: Peace, Peace, When There Is No Peace

    · 8:16 · Episode 110

    In my closing podcast summarizing the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare I review key points from Episodes 91-96 about peace, with an application to current events. When we are trying to figure out conflict termination the…

  37. War is a Political Instrument

    · 8:20 · Episode 109

    After taking a Christmas break, I am picking up on my summaries of the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare. In the previous episode, I described the nature of war as violence intended to compel an opponent to submit to your…

  38. E107: The Unchanging Nature of War

    · 8:59 · Episode 108

    In this second episode of my summary series, I address the Nature of War. That nature is violence directed at an opponent to coerce him to submit to your will. This violence has always been the nature of war and it…

  39. E106: Summarizing the Ancient Art of Modern Warfare, Part 1

    · 7:58 · Episode 107

    For a little more than five years and 105 episodes, I have been podcasting on what I believe everyone can and should know about war and sometimes more specifically the characteristics of the persistent conflict we see…

  40. E104 Plan B: Rejecting Peace

    · 5:10 · Episode 106

    In a recent episode of my podcast series of “The Ancient Art of Modern Warfare” (E104) I described possibilities for an end to the fighting in Ukraine. Of course, any end to any armed conflict requires the agreement of…

  41. E105 Contractors on the Battlefield

    · 8:43 · Episode 105

    Last week, I attended the annual “Summit” meeting of the International Stability Operations Association, or #ISOA. This association includes 200 private corporations that support U.S. and friendly government engagement…

  42. E104: The Potential for Peace

    · 7:31 · Episode 104

    Is a negotiated peace possible, or even desirable between Russia and Ukraine? How can this be done without validating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and encouragement of future aggression? These are critical questions to…

  43. E103: Proportionality in Contemporary War

    · 11 min · Episode 103

    We often hear that this or that military attack caused disproportionate civilian casualties. Most often, these accusations are directed against Israel, when they are not directed against the United States. I will be…

  44. E102: Catching Up

    · 8:29 · Episode 102

    What is the common theme to mercenaries, natural resources, hypersonic missiles, Gaza, and exploding pagers? I can think of several, but in a recent conversation with a colleague of mine, that common thread was…

  45. E101: Second Battle of Kursk, Part 2

    · 8:52 · Episode 101

    The fighting in the Kursk Oblast is still ongoing, and it would be much to soon to derive any lessons to be learned from this event. This episode picks up from the previous episode, examining how this campaign might…

  46. E100: The Second Battle of Kursk

    · 8:41 · Episode 100

    The war in Ukraine has taken a very interesting, and I think, exciting turn of events. The advent of combined arms maneuver warfare reminiscent of armored offensives in that region eight decades ago. It is impossible…

  47. E99: Applying Friction and the Trinity for contemporary War and Peace

    · 9:20 · Episode 99

    Clausewitz’s descriptions of friction, taken with the often antagonistic interplay among his trinity of passion, policy, and probability, keep war in theory separate from war in practice. How does this look in real…

  48. The Paradoxical Trinity of War (and Peace)

    · 8:11 · Episode 98

    Clausewitz wrote that there are three forces at work when a nation goes to war: “unbridled passion,” reason, and the play of chance and probability. Things only work well when each of these is held in equilibrium by…

  49. E97: Friction in War

    · 8:07 · Episode 97

    War is really very simple, but Clausewitz cautioned that by saying that in war, even the simplest thing is difficult, sometime insurmountable. This idea, which he called “Friction” he maintained was the one thing that…

  50. E96: What is Peace?

    · 8:12 · Episode 96

    If the only acceptable outcome of war is a peace, and the only sustainable peace is a just peace, then it is essential to answer the question, “what is peace?” This is a simple question, but without a simple answer. It…

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