Social Science of War

Jul 02 2024 19 ep. 55 mins 381
Social Science of War Podcast artwork

A production of the Department of Social Sciences at the United States Military Academy, the Social Science of War podcast brings together leading research and practitioner perspective to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the US Army.

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US Alliances Politics in the Indo-Pacific

Jul 02 2024 60 mins  
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 mor

The Harding Project and Army Professional Writing

Jun 18 2024 39 mins  
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. I

Public Opinion and the Use of Force

Jun 06 2024 55 mins  
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

Learning from Iraq

May 21 2024 46 mins  
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 t

Iraq in Retrospect, Twenty Years Later

May 07 2024 51 mins  
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 th

Technology and the Future of Land Warfare

Apr 22 2024 62 mins  
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 app

Americans’ Changing Views of Civil-Military Relations

Apr 08 2024 62 mins  
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 Lim

Why Defense Reform in Ukraine is Crucial

Mar 25 2024 58 mins  
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

Drone Proliferation to Terrorists Proxies

Mar 11 2024 59 mins  
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

Civil-Military Relations and Partisanship in the Armed Forces

Apr 16 2023 57 mins  
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 p