How spreading democracy keeps dictators in power
For his views on democracies and dictatorships, he’s been called a cynic. But NYU professor Alastair Smith doesn’t think that makes him wrong. This week on War College, Smith debunks popular ideas abo...
15 Mar 201728min
The Case for Leaving Afghanistan
After thousands of American lives, literally billions of dollars and more than 15 years, the U.S. can’t seem to quit its longest war in Afghanistan. With no end in sight, no word on strategy from the ...
9 Mar 201726min
Ethical behavior on the battlefield
Growing up, I was always told the military's job was to “kill people and break stuff.” It’s a maxim that gained popularity in the United States at the end of the Vietnam War. But total war with few ru...
28 Feb 201732min
The Bannon effect and a brief history of the National Security Council
U.S. President Donald Trump’s first month in office has ushered in a whirlwind of change. One bit of procedural change raised eyebrows among the national security crowd. At the end of January, Trump r...
22 Feb 201721min
How the West has aided democracy’s decline
According to Presidents John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, the United States is a shining “city upon a hill." It’s a beacon of democracy in a dark world full of cruel dictators and vicious despots. But h...
15 Feb 201731min
The security costs to barring refugees and creating civilian ‘safe zones’
President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily restricting travel from seven Muslim-majority countries and halting the U.S. refugee program. One week later, after several legal challenge...
7 Feb 201725min
Russia's hybrid war against the West
War has changed in the 21st century and combat is not always kinetic. Russia’s battlefields are the internet, financial markets and television airwaves. The goal is not necessarily to take and hold te...
31 Jan 201735min
Magick as strategy in World War Two
Adolf Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess, was obsessed with the occult. He attempted to read minds and used astrological star charts to inform his battle plans. On the allied side, English magician Aleister...
24 Jan 201732min
