The Strategy of Protest and Revolution 2: The French Revolution (05/05/2020)

The Strategy of Protest and Revolution 2: The French Revolution

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. This is a video series on “The Strategy of Protest and Revolution”, where we’ll look at how successful revolutionary, protest and other social movements have strategized in order to achieve their political goals. To do that, we’ll be focusing on the following questions:

                - First: How can activists turn public discontent into a political movement?

                - Second: What do successful movements do to achieve their political goals?

                - And third, how have successful strategies changed with time?

Over this series, we’ll answer these questions by looking at various historical movements, starting with the French Revolution of 1789.

The Strategy of Protest and Revolution 1: Basic Elements (04/05/2020)

The Strategy of Protest and Revolution 1: Basic Elements

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. This is a video series on “The Strategy of Protest and Revolution”, where we’ll look at how successful revolutionary and protest movements have strategized to achieve their political goals. To do that, we’ll be focusing on the following questions:

                - First: How do activists turn public discontent into a political movement?

                - Second: How do movements plan their action out to achieve their political goals?

                - And third, how have successful strategies changed with time?

Over this series, we’ll answer these questions by looking at various historical movements. But before we do that, let’s first structure our thinking by examining the basic elements within a strategy of protest and revolution.

 

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 5: Politics and Strategy (27/01/2020)

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 5: Politics and Strategy

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. This is a video series I originally made for CaspianReport on the geostrategic analysis of the Peloponnesian War. In the fourth video, we looked at how competing Athenian and Spartan strategies finally culminated in a Spartan victory in the final phase of the War. Now, we conclude the series by looking at how politics influenced Athenian and Spartan strategymaking.

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 4: Syracuse and the Ionian War (06/01/2020)

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 4: Syracuse and the Ionian War

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. This is a video series I originally made for CaspianReport on the geostrategic analysis of the Peloponnesian War. In the third video, we examined Athens’ ascent and Sparta’s response during the Archidamian War. Now, we see how a 3^rd generation of leaders sought decision in the final phases of the conflict: the Peace of Nicias, the infamous Sicilian Expedition, and the Ionian War.

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 3: The Archidamian War (15/12/19)

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 3: The Archidamian War

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. This is a video series I originally made for CaspianReport on the geostrategic analysis of the Peloponnesian War. Previously, we went over the opening strategies of Athens and Sparta. Now, with their failure and the death of the first generation of leaders, in this third video we look at how both sides adapted to the developing war.

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 2: Pericles vs Archidamus (08/12/2019)

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War, Part 2: Pericles vs Archidamus

Hi, and welcome to Strategy Stuff. This is a video series I originally made for CaspianReport on the geostrategic analysis of the Peloponnesian War. Way back in March, I analyzed the causes of this conflict; and now, as war became a reality, we examine how Athens and Sparta planned their opening moves.

When war began in 431BC, most Greeks expected Sparta to defeat Athens within three years. While this piece of conventional wisdom turned out to be wildly incorrect, its reveals something about how the Ancient Greeks thought of strategy.

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War 1: Thucydides’ Trap (02/04/2019)

Geostrategy of the Peloponnesian War 1: Thucydides’ Trap - A Collaboration with CaspianReport

Starting in 431 BC, the ancient Greek world turned on itself as Sparta and Athens locked horns. The result of this rivalry, as is captured vividly and analysed thoroughly by historian Thucydides, was a dynamic conflict that pitted a land power against a naval power. The hostilities lasted on and off for decades, but the events fundamentally shaped the study of geopolitics. It was a war like no other. The catalyst of this conflict and steady manner in which it grew into all-out hostilities has inspired strategic concepts and thinkers throughout the ages. So, to draw parallels with the present, we must analyse Thucydides Trap’ and go over the origins of the Peloponnesian War.

My name is Strategy Stuff and welcome to CaspianReport.

The Naval Strategy of Alfred Thayer Mahan (12/04/2019)

The Naval Strategy of Alfred Thayer Mahan

November, 1873. The Virginius, an American ship smuggling arms to Cubans rebelling against Spain, is captured by a Spanish warship in open waters. Ignoring American protests, Spain declares the crew pirates, and swiftly executes them.

The American public demands revenge. But Washington faces an inconvenient fact: the US no longer has a ship that can defeat an ironclad on the high seas – and Spain has four. War would only place US shipping and even the US coast in dire peril.

The Virginius Affair will not only expose the US’ naval impotence, but also raises an unsettling possibility: what if a future enemy targets not just smugglers, but every US ship at sea? What will happen to the US if it is boxed within its own shores?

Grand Strategy Book Recommendations (05/04/2019)

Grand Strategy Book Recommendations

So in response to a few requests from YouTube commenters, here’s a simple video recommending some books on Grand Strategy. Obviously these reflect my own opinions and biases; so if you want to, please add your own recommendations in the comments, or else treat the video like the belated April Fool’s joke that you think it is.

US Strategy in Latin America, 1939 – 1949 (24/03/2019)

US Strategy in Latin America, 1939 – 1949

Introduction

This video will be about US strategy towards Latin America from 1939 to 1949, covering policy towards the Caribbean and South America during the ‘Good Neighbor’ Era and World War II. To prepare this side theater for the broader conflict, the US made use of a host of policy instruments: not just traditional political-military power, but geoeconomic and cultural diplomacy as well.

The Strategy of Eurasianism (16/02/2019)

The Strategy of Eurasianism

Introduction

This video will be about the strategy of Eurasianism, a set of cultural, philosophical and political concepts centered on the idea that Eurasia – defined as the former Soviet space minus the Baltics and plus Mongolia and sometimes northwest China – has an independent civilizational identity and developmental path. In particular, we will answer the following questions:

    - How does Eurasianism define power?

    - What is the global distribution of power?

    - And how can power be organized and manipulated to achieve Eurasianism’s goals?

The Grand Strategy of Japan, 1919-1941 (12/01/2019)

The Grand Strategy of Japan, 1919-1941

Why, in December 1941, did Japan go to war against the United States?

In examining Japan’s grand strategy from 1919 to 1941, this video will focus on two problems: why did Japan choose military solutions to solve its strategic problems? And why were these solutions eventually directed at the US?

The Strategy of Geoeconomics (03/12/2018)

The Strategy of Geoeconomics

                       

This video will be about the strategy of geoeconomics, which covers how states use, or should use, their economic power in pursuit of geopolitical goals. This video aims to introduce the concept, outline the elements of geoeconomic strategy, and finally come up with two strategic blueprints that states can use to achieve their goals.

The Mongol Conquest of Southern China (02/09/2018)

The Mongol Conquest of Southern China

This video will be about the Mongol conquest of Southern China and the Sòng Dynasty, a titanic effort that would last from the 1230s to 1279 and involve, directly or indirectly, all the states of East Asia and many beyond. In particular, this video seeks to place Mongol and Song actions within a larger strategic and regional context. 

The Strategy of Machiavelli (12/08/2018)

The Strategy of Machiavelli

Introduction

This video will be about Machiavelli’s strategy, as derived from the reports he wrote, his military treatise The Art of War, and above all, The Prince. 

Chinese Strategy Against the Northern Steppe, c.600BC to 90AD (19/07/2018)

Chinese Strategy Against the Northern Steppe, c.600BC to 90AD

Introduction

This video will cover the strategies adopted by the early Chinese states against semi-settled or nomadic peoples in the northern steppes, culminating in the 300-year-long struggle between the Chinese Han Dynasty and the nomadic Xiongnu Empire. As the opening act to two thousand years of competition, what Chinese leaders did here influenced future policymakers and as such forms part of China’s strategic DNA. 

Sir Julian Corbett, Limited War, and a Strategy for Maritime States (21/06/2018)

Sir Julian Corbett, Limited War, and a Strategy for Maritime States

Introduction

This video will be about Sir Julian Corbett, an early 20^th Century British naval theorist, and his application of the ‘Limited War’ concept to sea power and the strategy of maritime states, which are societies closely linked with the sea. Corbett argues that maritime states should wage war in a fashion different from their continental counterparts – one based on sea control, strategic isolation, and the cost-effective application of force.

Defensive Strategies of the Roman Empire (18/12/2017)

Defensive Strategies of the Roman Empire

This video will describe the strategies employed by the Roman Empire to defend its territory, as laid out in American strategist Edward Luttwak’s Book, The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire. Luttwak is not a full-time historian and archaeological evidence contradicts some of his views, but at a minimum the video illustrates his thinking on several variants of defensive strategy, their pros and cons, and the links that exist between politics and strategy formulation.

The Strategy of the Peloponnesian War (01/07/2017)

The Strategy of the Peloponnesian War

From 431 to 404BC, Athens, Sparta and their respective allies fought a 27-year-long war spanning much of Classical Greece and its colonies. This video will assess the strategies pursued by both sides of the Second Peloponnesian War, and how they affected the course of the conflict.

Examining Mackinder's Heartland Thesis (28/05/2017)

Examining Mackinder’s Heartland Thesis

‘Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland,

Who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island,

Who rules the World-Island commands the World.’

This video will examine one of geopolitics’ most famous theories – Halford Mackinder’s ‘Heartland Thesis’. It will outline the assumptions behind the theory, go through its reasoning, and assess its recommendations and insights.

Union Strategy During the American Civil War, 1861-1865 (18/05/2017)

Union Strategy During the American Civil War

This video is about the strategies the Union adopted during the American Civil War of 1861-1865, how they evolved, and how they ultimately brought about victory over the Confederate States.

The Strategy of the Crusades, 1096-1202 (28/04/2017)

The Strategy of the Crusades

To be honest, the title’s a bit misleading: neither the Crusaders nor the Muslims had a grand strategy, and in any case fragmented medieval governments could not execute such plans. Rather, this video is about the strategic problems each side faced, and their responses.

The Geopolitics of the Mughal Empire (28/03/2017)

 

The Geopolitics of the Mughal Empire

Nowadays the Mughals might be better-known for the Taj Mahal , but from 1526 to the 1700s they were also masters of the Indian subcontinent,  ruling over most of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, or almost 20% of the global population.

In this video, derived from Jos Gommans’ book Mughal Warfare , we’ll examine the geographic conditions – both physical and human – that influenced the Mughal conquest of India. While India’s situation has obviously changed a lot since the 16th Century, the video still contains a few ideas on how we can analyze the relationship between a land’s geography and its politics – or in other words, geopolitics .