Talking Strategy

Royal United Services Institute

Our thinking about defence and security is shaped by ideas. What we see depends on our vantage point and the lenses we apply to the world. Governments, military and business leaders are seeking to maximise the value they gain from scarce resources by becoming more 'strategic'. Standing on the shoulders of the giants of strategy from the past helps us see further and more clearly into the future. This series is aimed at those looking to learn more about strategy and how to become more strategic – leaders, practitioners and scholars. This podcast series, co-chaired by Professor Beatrice Heuser and Paul O'Neill, examines the ideas of important thinkers from around the world and across the ages. The ideas, where they came from and what shaped those whose ideas shape us now. By exploring the concepts in which we and our adversaries think today, the episodes will shine a light on how we best prepare for tomorrow. The views or statements expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by RUSI employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the view of RUSI.

  1. hace 4 días

    S7E3: Escape from the World-Island: Geopolitics and Geoeconomics

    Professor Scott Smitson traces the origins of geopolitics and geoeconomics as concepts and why these forgotten ideas are returning to shape today's world. The triumphalism following the end of the Cold War led some to believe we had reached The End of History, and that great powers had moved beyond a world shaped by geopolitics and geoeconomics. Robert Kaplan's The Revenge of Geography in 2012 challenged this view, arguing that geography still shapes how states see the world, and can either strengthen them or limit their ambitions. This is the core of geopolitics, an idea developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by thinkers such as Rudolf Kjellén and Sir Halford Mackinder. Drawing on the achievements of the Mongol Empire – see our discussion of its chief strategist, Subotai, in Season 4, Episode 1 – Mackinder believed that whoever rules the Heartland (Eurasia), commands the 'World Island' and thus the world. This was problematic for maritime powers, and later Nicholas Spykman argued that it was actually whoever controlled the Rimland, the coastal regions surrounding Eurasia, who controlled the destinies of the world. This was reflected in George Kennan's logic behind the Cold War containment strategy toward the Soviet Union. Its legacy remains in thinking about China, but does the Belt and Road Initiative suggest an attempt by China to break out of this singular characterisation and reduce its vulnerability to classical containment? Professor Scott Smitson is Director of the Grand Strategy Program at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. He served for 21 years in the US Army, including as a strategist at US Central and Southern Commands and the Joint Staff. Has also served for a period as a US Officer embedded in the UK's Ministry of Defence Strategic Plans team. Further Reading: Nicholas J. Spykman, Geography of the Peace, Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1944. Halford Mackinder, 'The Geographical Pivot of History', The Geographical Journal, Vol. 23, No. 4, April 1904, pp. 421–437. Available at: https://dn720002.ca.archive.org/0/items/The-geographical-pivot-of-history/The%20Geographical%20Pivot%20of%20History%20by%20Halford%20John%20MacKinder.pdf Robert D. Kaplan, The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, Random House, 2012. Available at: https://archive.org/details/TheRevengeOfGeographyWhatTheMapTellsUsAboutComingConflictsAndTheBattleAgainstFate Robert D. Blackwill and Jennifer M. Harris, War by Other Means: Geo-economics and Statecraft, Harvard University Press, 2017. Available at: https://archive.org/details/warbyothermeansg0000blac US Air Force, China Aerospace Studies Institute, In Their Own Words: Science of Military Strategy 2020, January 2022. Available at: https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/CASI/documents/Translations/2022-01-26%202020%20Science%20of%20Military%20Strategy.pdf Related RUSI Talking Strategy Episodes S1E1, Sir Julian Corbett and the British Way of War, with Professor Andrew Lambert. S1E4, Leo VI (the Wise) and the Beginning of Western Strategy, with Dr Georgios Chatzelis S1E5, Admiral Liu Huaqing and China's Island Chain Strategy, with Professor Christopher Yung. S2E2, Neptune's Prophet: Alfred Thayer Mahan, with Cdr Dr Benjamin Armstrong. S5E13, Modernising the Royal Navy: Admiral Lord Fisher, with Dr Richard Dunley S5E18. George C Marshall: Strategic Planning for War and Peace, with Professor Bill Johnsen.

  2. 6 oct

    S7E2: What Does a Return to Realpolitik Mean? With Professor John Bew

    What is realpolitik, and why is the world said to be returning to it? Professor John Bew CMG traces the idea back to its origins. The world may well be entering a new age of realpolitik, but the harder question is defining which kind. The term is usually associated with an unsentimental use of power to further national interests, often seen as a rejection of a more idealistic, values-based approach to international relations. But that's not where it came from. Realpolitik was first coined in 1853 by Ludwig von Rochau, a German liberal, who used it to describe something different: the ability to understand and adapt to the realities of power, and to pursue enlightened goals in a world that doesn't follow enlightened rules. For von Rochau, Realpolitik wasn't just about foreign policy – the strongest states, he argued, were those that could harness social forces at home and manage internal division effectively. Professor John Bew is a historian at King's College London and a leading figure at the Centre for Statecraft and National Security. He has advised four British Prime Ministers and authored three UK National Security Strategies. His book, Realpolitk: a History is a definitive work on the subject, just as are his biographies on Castlereagh and Attlee. Further reading: John Bew, Realpolitik: A History (Hurst, 2026). Henry Kissinger, Diplomacy (Simon & Schuster, 1994). Henry Kissinger, A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace, 1812–22 (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999).

  3. 22 sep

    S7E1: Avoiding Strategic Surprise: Lessons from NATO with Dr Florence Gaub

    NATO expert Dr Florence Gaub explains how strategic foresight helps NATO anticipate and avoid strategic surprise in an uncertain world. Strategic surprise happens when new information fundamentally changes how we see the world. In an increasingly uncertain global landscape, predicting exact outcomes is nearly impossible – and that unpredictability heightens the risk of surprise. Yet as Lord Mervyn King explored in Season 6, genuine 'Black Swan' events – to quote Nicholas Taleb – are rarer than we think. Dr Florence Gaub describes how we can use strategic foresight to anticipate possible – even if unlikely – futures and avoid being caught off guard. She cautions, however, that it is not enough to 'think the unthinkable', futurologists also need to have their voice heard and acted on by those in power, so the work has to straddle both creative thinking and engaging with bureaucracies. Dr Florence Gaub is the Director of the Research Division at the NATO Defence College having previously worked at the European Union Institute for Security Studies. Her PhD in international politics is from Humbolt University. She is the author of Future, a User's Guide, a graphic novel for NATO called NATO, 2099, and editor of What If…?: Ten Dragon King Scenarios for 2030, which was published at the NATO Defence College in 2025. Further Reading Florence Gaub, Future, a User's Guide, Hurst, 2026. Florence Gaub, NATO, 2099: A Graphic Novel, NATO, 2024 Florence Gaub (ed.), What If…?: Ten Dragon King Scenarios for 2030, NATO Future Series, November 2025 Florence Gaub and Jonathan Heist, 'NATO's Permanent Crisis', Foreign Affairs, 16 June 2026. Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner, Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction, Random House, 2015. Related RUSI Talking Strategy Episodes Talking Strategy, Season 3, Episode 6 – Net Assessment as a Tool of Strategy, with Andrew Marshall and Dr Thomas Mahnken. RUSI. Talking Strategy, Season 4, Episode 14 – Evolving, Adopting and Adapting Alliance Strategy, with Lord Peach. RUSI. Talking Strategy, Season 5, Episode 1 – Leading a Defence Start-up: NATO's First Secretary General, Lord Ismay, with Lt Gen Sir John Kiszely. RUSI. Talking Strategy, Season 6, Episode 3 – Effective Strategy for Radical Uncertainty, with Lord Mervyn King. RUSI.

  4. 14 jul

    S6E22: Delivering National Security Strategies

    Former UN Ambassador and National Security Advisor Sir Mark Lyall Grant discusses the challenges facing delivery of Western security strategies. In this season of Talking Strategy we have explored many of the key themes of today's security and defence strategies, but the test of a strategy is what changes as a result. A perfectly written strategy that makes the wrong assumptions, or that cannot be delivered, is meaningless at best, and often worse. In the final episode of this season, we examine the vital question of how defence strategy is delivered. With so many Western strategies built on the assumption of a rules based international order, the fracturing of that system poses profound challenges for our defence strategies. Sir Mark, who chaired the UN Security Council four times, describes how the assumption was perhaps overblown – based on a 'Golden Age' that only lasted for 25 years – and how the world is moving in a disorderly manner towards a three-tier model in which interests are enforced through power. In this new world, governments need to confront the reality that they cannot guarantee the safety of their citizens alone or without the help of their populations. This affects how governments operate – their structures and processes – and the conversations they need to have with their people and allies.   Further Reading Mark Lyall Grant, 'The world order in crisis', Horizons: Journal of International Relations and Sustainable Development, vol.21 (2022): 124-133. Peter Ricketts, Hard Choices: The Making and Unmaking of Global Britain, Atlantic Books, 2021. Jack Watling, Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World, Macmillan, 2026.

  5. 30 jun

    S6E21: Dr Jack Watling on Ukrainian Adaptation to War

    In our 100th episode, we talk to RUSI senior research fellow Dr Jack Watling about the transformation in Ukraine in response to Russia's War. Against what many considered a materially superior adversary, Ukraine has not only withstood Russian aggression, but has fought back with courage, ingenuity and commitment from the whole of society. We discuss how it has achieved this, not just through the armed forces, but in mobilising its people and industry. We also consider what lessons there are for others facing the threat of modern war. Dr Jack Watling is one of the UK's foremost commentators on Russia's war in Ukraine. The author of Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World and co-author of the RUSI paper Tactical Developments During the Third Year of the Russo-Ukrainian War, his analysis of the war is highly prized by many governments.   Further Reading Jack Watling, Statecraft: The New Rules of Power in a Divided World, MacMillan, 2026. Jack Watling, Oleksandr Danylyuk and Nick Reynolds, Preliminary Lessons from Ukraine's Offensive Operations, 2022-2023, RUSI, 2024. Jack Watling and Nick Reynolds, Tactical Developments During the Third Year of the Russo-Ukrainian War, RUSI, 2025. Siddarth Kaushal & Paul O'Neill (eds.), The Role of Dissimilar Rearmament in Allied Deterrence, RUSI Whitehall Paper 102, 2025.

  6. 16 jun

    S6E20: Preparing for War: Adaptable Forces and Societies

    Professor Olivier Schmitt describes the systemic challenges of military transformation, given rapidly evolving technology and NATO's distinct strategic cultures. Modern defence and security reviews highlight the deteriorating security environment and the need to prepare forces. But, as we hear from Lord King (Season 6, Episode 3), the ability to adapt will be essential; we need a mindset that allows for continuous change. This is both enabled by, and made harder within, an alliance context where members' different strategic cultures – with different civil-military relations, defence procurement and operations – present systemic dilemmas. Professor Olivier Schmitt is the Head of Research at the Institute of Military Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College. He completed his doctorate at the Department of War Studies, King's College London. His most recent book, Preparing for War: Strategy, Power and Military Change, was published by Hurst/Oxford University Press in 2026.   Further Reading: Schmitt, Olivier: Preparing for War. Strategy, Power and Military Change. (London, Hurst/Oxford University Press, 2026). Schmitt, Olivier, Sten Rynning and Amelie Theussen (eds): War Time: Temporality and the Decline of Western Military Power (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2021) Barno, David and Bensahel, Nora: Adaptation Under Fire. How Militaries change in Wartime (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020). Finkel, Meir: On Flexibility: Recovery from Technological and Doctrinal Surprise on the Battlefield (Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2011). Fox, Aimee: Learning to Fight: Military Innovation and Change in the British Army, 1914-1918 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Goya, Michel: Flesh and Steel during the Great War: The Transformation of the French Army and the Invention of Modern Warfare (London: Pen and Sword, 2018). Hoffman, Frank: Mars Adapting: Military Change During War (Annapolis, Naval Institute Press, 2021).

  7. 2 jun

    Adversarial Strategy: Russia's Preparations for a Long War

    We look at how Russia's armed forces are learning lessons from combat and examine Moscow's ambitions in its war against Ukraine. The full-scale invasion of Ukraine is part of a long-term, much larger project of turning Russia into a regional hegemon with influence on other continents, while it builds relationships with China and others who may help its goals. In this episode, Dr Andrew Monaghan, RUSI Senior Associate Fellow, unravels the threat and the depth of Russian long-term preparation for war. Dr Monaghan is a senior British expert on Russia with extensive publications. He has directed research on Russia at NATO's Research Division in Rome, at Oxford University's Changing Character War Centre, and has worked at the UK's Defence Academy and Chatham House. He holds his PhD from the Department of War Studies, King's College London.

  8. 19 may

    Bullion to Bullets: Mobilising the Financial Markets

    The Centre for Economic Security's Dr Rebecca Harding argues for the importance of financial markets as the fourth pillar in supporting effective mobilisation. Conversations about industrial mobilisation often focus on the triumvirate of government, armed forces and industry. In this episode we add a fourth pillar, that of finance, and the need for governments to consider how the economic system can be co-opted to the task of providing defence and security for their nations. Something that the US government recognised during the Civil War when, in 1861-1862, it issued the emergency paper current – the Greenback – to finance the war effort. The vital role of finance in recapitalising armed forces, and in building resilience, reinforces the need for comprehensive thinking about security discussed in earlier episodes and takes the task of mobilisation beyond defence ministries into all aspects of modern societies. Dr Rebecca Harding is CEO of the Centre for Economic Security and an independent trade economist. Her strategic advisory business, Rebeccanomics provides analytical services in international trade, trade finance and sustainability. She has also acted as a specialist advisor to the UK Treasury Select Committee. She published The World at Economic War: How to Rebuild Security in a Weaponized Global Economy (London Publishing Partnership, 2025) and has co-authored numerous other publications, including The Weaponization of Trade: The Great Unbalancing of Politics and Economics, in 2017. She appears regularly as a commentator on BBC, Bloomberg, Sky News and CNBC.

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Our thinking about defence and security is shaped by ideas. What we see depends on our vantage point and the lenses we apply to the world. Governments, military and business leaders are seeking to maximise the value they gain from scarce resources by becoming more 'strategic'. Standing on the shoulders of the giants of strategy from the past helps us see further and more clearly into the future. This series is aimed at those looking to learn more about strategy and how to become more strategic – leaders, practitioners and scholars. This podcast series, co-chaired by Professor Beatrice Heuser and Paul O'Neill, examines the ideas of important thinkers from around the world and across the ages. The ideas, where they came from and what shaped those whose ideas shape us now. By exploring the concepts in which we and our adversaries think today, the episodes will shine a light on how we best prepare for tomorrow. The views or statements expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the podcast does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by RUSI employees are those of the employees and do not necessarily reflect the view of RUSI.

Información

  • Creador
    Royal United Services Institute
  • Años de actividad
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodios
    104
  • Clasificación
    Apto
  • Copyright
    © 2022
  • Mostrar sitio web
    Talking Strategy

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