Social Science of War West Point Department of Social Sciences

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 the author of the book Thinking Beyond War. In this episode, he describes the challenges US forces faced in Iraq and highlights a number of lessons from the conflict—lessons that he says the US military has "gathered" but not yet fully learned. As the episode concludes, the discussion zooms out to take a broader look at the Middle East and the United States' missions in the region.

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 the invasion. The discussion begins with an examination of prewar estimates of troop requirements and continues by drawing out important lessons from the war on counterinsurgency and security force assistance. It also uses the early post-9/11 years as a framework to discuss Israel's current conflict with Hamas.
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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 approach the hard choices they face—about everything from procurement to force structure to commitments across Europe and Asia? And what will be required to achieve deterrence in an era of rapid change? To explore these questions, Dr. Alexandra Chinchilla is joined on this episode by retired General Robert Abrams, Dr. Jack Watling, and Major Ryan Van Wie.

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 Limbocker is an assistant professor of American politics at West Point. Both guests focus their research on critical issues related to civil-military relations and they join Major Gabriel Royal on this episode to explore these deeply important questions.

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 hosts this episode, and she is joined by Dr. Polina Beliakova and Donald Bowser. Each guest brings deep expertise on both Ukraine and governance. They explain how defense reform would address corruption in procurement and military recruitment that are inhibiting its military effectiveness today—and why it is crucial to Ukraine’s long-term defense.

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 this episode and is joined by retired Lieutenant General Ken Tovo, a former commanding general of US Special Operations Command, Dr. Kerry Chávez, a political science instructor at Texas Tech University, and Mr. Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
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