The Voices of War

Latest Episodes:

69. Amanda Hsiao - China, US and Taiwan: A deep dive Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

Today, I spoke with Amanda Hsiao who is the Senior Analyst for China at the International Crisis Group. She joined me to shed some light on the increasing tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Amanda did this by tackling questions such as:

What are key points of difference in the US and Chinese worldviews?
Why are both sides intentionally elevating tensions?
What has led to the current change in decades-long status quo?
What is the importance of President Xi’s declaration of ‘reunification’ by 2049?
Why is Taiwan so important to both China and the US?
What do people in Taiwan want?
What lessons is China drawing from the Russian invasion of Ukraine?

Amanda’s work at Crisis Group focuses on conflicts in which China plays an important role, and developments in China’s foreign policy that relate to conflict prevention and resolution. As you will hear, it is understandable why she is a respected go-to voice on matters affecting China and the region. Some of the topics we covered are:

Amanda’s journey into researching China
Current state of affairs between China and the US
Increased tension = better preparedness
Narratives for domestic vs international audiences
The role of history in China’s quest for ‘national rejuvenation’
International laws, hypocrisy, and moral high ground
The risk of a ‘hot’ war
Language of ‘Reunification’ vs ‘unification’ with Taiwan
Complexity surrounding Taiwan’s status
Shifts in perceptions, especially the youth, in Taiwan
The historical, cultural and strategic importance of Taiwan to China
Lessons China is learning from Russian invasion of Ukraine
Regional impact of growing tensions
Current crisis management mechanisms and what else is needed
Likelihood of Taiwan pursuing independence
Relevance of Chinese demographics
Assessment of risk of Chinese invasion of Taiwan

If you like what you’ve heard, please take a moment to like and review the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon page here.

68. Special Release: Dr Mike Martin and John Spencer - An update on Ukraine Sep 23, 2022

Show notes

Today, I spoke with Dr Mike Martin and John Spencer who joined me for an update on the situation in Ukraine.

This conversation was recorded just after 9pm on the evening of 22nd of September, Ukraine time.

Some of the topics we covered are:

Impact of recent Russian battlefield losses
Significance of Putin’s ‘partial mobilisation’ and what it might mean
Attrition vs. Manoeuvre warfare
Possible next moves by Ukraine
The narrative surrounding the ‘referendums’ and their possible purpose
Thoughts on the ongoing weapons debate, such as about ATACMS
The risk of a collapsed Russia
Predictions for upcoming weeks and months

My previous conversations with Mike and John about Ukraine can be found below:

64. John Spencer - On Ukraine, Urban Warfare and lessons learnt

58. Dr Mike Martin and LTGEN (Ret.) Arne Dalhaug - Update on the Russian invasion of Ukraine

If you like what you’ve heard, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon page here.

67. Paul Ingram - On the threat of nuclear war and hopes of disarmament Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

My guest today is Paul Ingram, who is the Academic Programme Manager at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk (CSER) at the University of Cambridge.

Up to a few months ago, he was also the Director of Emergent Change, which he established to further the understanding and practice of the Stepping Stones Approach (SSA) to nuclear disarmament. Prior to that, he was the Executive Director at British American Security Information Council (BASIC) where he developed the Stepping Stones Approach along with his colleagues from the Swedish Foreign Ministry. Throughout his extensive career, Paul has worked across the world on many projects related to nuclear disarmament.

Some of the topics we covered are:

Paul’s journey into research of existential risk
Likelihood of getting rid of atomic weapons
Whether existing global structures can help mitigate catastrophic risks
The importance of context and history when dealing with rogue actors
Importance of inclusion and diversity
Challenges of quantifying risk of nuclear war
Explanation of how nuclear deterrence works
What happens if Russia, as we know it, collapses?
NATO , US, and B61-12 nuclear bombs
Nuclear weapon command systems and current safeguards
Nuclear disarmament and the ‘Stepping Stones Approach’

I made mention in the preamble about a report on the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. You can find that report here.

You can also find out more information about Russian nuclear weapons in this article by Hans M. Kristensen from 25th February 2022.

If you like what you’ve heard, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon page here.

66. Dr Jessica Wolfendale - On torture, war crimes and moral responsibility - Part 2 Sep 08, 2022

Show notes

This is Part 2 of my conversation with Dr Jessica Wolfendale, who is an author, ethics professor and expert on torture and war crimes. If you've missed Part 1 of this discussion, I suggest you listen to that first here.

Some of the topics we covered in Part 2 are:

The dispositional account and cognitive-affective personality system
Military culture and socialisation
Freedom and resentment
Moral ignorance is by no means an excuse
Integrating the victim’s perspective into military training
The power of reconciliation
Jessica’s future work on depictions of war crimes

During the chat, I made reference to my conversation with Deane-Peter Baker about moral drift in the context of military ethics. You can find that interview here.

Additionally, if you'd like to hear more about the position I take on the idea of 'free will', I recommend listening to episode 33 with the renowned 'free will sceptic', Gregg Caruso. You can find it here.

If you like what you’ve heard, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee page on the links below:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevoicesofwar

65. Dr Jessica Wolfendale - On torture, war crimes and moral responsibility - Part 1 Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

This is Part 1 of my conversation with Dr Jessica Wolfendale, who is an author, ethics professor and expert on torture and war crimes. She joined me to try and tackle the dichotomy of how to reconcile one’s perception of oneself with one’s actions, within the context of atrocities carried out in war.

She does this by asking questions such as, ‘How do good people commit atrocities, like torture, and how are their views on killing impacted?’ and ‘Does the military training process make excessive violence acceptable and permissible in certain contexts, such as war?’.

Jessica is the author of ‘Torture and the Military Profession’, arguing that the prevalence of military torture is linked to military training methods that cultivate beliefs connected to crimes of obedience. She also co-authored ‘War Crimes: Causes, Excuses, and Blame’, with Matthew Talbert, where they unpack factors that can lead to war crimes as well as wrestle with the justness of responsibility and blame attributed to perpetrators.

Some of the topics we covered in Part 1 are:

Capital punishment as detached, humane killing
The normalisation of violence
How do we live with what we’ve done?
Forgiveness, self-forgiveness and atonement
Obedience to authority
The Milgram Experiments and the Good Samaritan Study
Circumstances and the situational account
The justification of torture in war

Part 2 will be released on 8th of September where we discuss topics such as:

The dispositional account and cognitive-affective personality system
Military culture and socialisation
Freedom and resentment
Moral ignorance is by no means an excuse
Integrating the victim’s perspective into military training
The power of reconciliation
Jessica’s future work on depictions of war crimes

If you like what you’ve heard, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee page on the links below:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevoicesofwar

64. John Spencer - On Ukraine, Urban Warfare and lessons learnt Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

Today, I spoke with John Spencer who is an award-winning scholar, professor, author, combat veteran, and internationally recognised expert and advisor on Urban Warfare and other military related topics. John currently serves as the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies with the Madison Policy Forum and was until recently the Chair of Urban Warfare Studies at the Modern War Institute at West Point. He is also the Co-Director of the Urban Warfare Project, and host of the Urban Warfare Project podcast.

John is also the author of the ‘Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender’, which is a short compilation of John’s vast experience and there are currently over 100,000 copies of the manual in Ukraine, where it’s being used daily by the defenders.

Some of the topics we discussed are:

John’s background in Urban Warfare
Why Urban Warfare is the hardest
Explanation of a possible shift in initiative
The strategic importance of Kherson
Likelihood of Putin seeking a ‘frozen’ conflict
The ‘Battle of Kyiv’ and why Ukraine succeeded
Why understanding the ‘human domain’ is critical
Information and connectivity as weapons of war
Birth of ‘The Mini-Manual for the Urban Defender’ and its ongoing usage in Ukraine
Conditions necessary for success of ‘Total Defence’
Reminder why Urban Warfare is critical and here to stay
Why training for the conduct of area defence is essential
Reminder of why terrain is important
The ‘rule book’ of a nuclear-armed state
Importance of a Ukrainian victor to broader geopolitical tensions

During the chat, I made reference to my conversation with Carl Miller about Russian influence operations in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries. You can find that interview here.

If you like what you’ve heard, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee page on the links below:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevoicesofwar

63. Dr Ned Dobos - On the unaccounted costs of maintaining a military Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

If you'd like to help improve the show, please visit our Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

---

My guest today is Dr Ned Dobos, who is a Senior Lecturer in International and Political Studies at the University of New South Wales in Canberra. He joined me to discuss his more-recent book, ‘Ethics, Security, and the War Machine: the True Cost of the Military’. Some of the topics we covered are:

Ned’s background and entry into military ethics
Explanation of Ned’s thesis, which asks whether justification of war necessarily justifies maintaining a military
Discussion on military as an ‘insurance policy’
The challenge of the classic security dilemma
Fear induced aggression and the Pre-emptive Strike Experiment
Discussion on Russian invasion of Ukraine
Military conditioning as potentially morally injurious
How we ensure accountability for possible moral injury
The Civil-Military gap and the ‘Veteran Superiority Complex’, and why they matter
The risk of military coups and what makes one more likely
Accounting for overconfidence, Einstellung Effect and other cognitive biases when considering war
Gene Sharp and the post-military defence system

62. Abby Zeith and Ruben Stewart: International Humanitarian Law in Urban Warfare Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Link to rate or review the podcast: RateThisPodcast.com/thevoicesofwar

Our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

---

My guests today are Abby Zeith and Ruben Stewart from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Abby is a Legal Adviser in ICRC’s Arms and Conduct of Hostilities Unit where her work focuses on urban warfare and the conduct of hostilities more generally.

Ruben is a Military and Armed Groups Advisor in the ICRC unit that manages relations and dialogue with arms carriers. He focuses on Non-State Armed Groups, battlefield behaviour and new technologies.

Abby and Ruben join me today to discuss Urban Warfare, including aspects of International Humanitarian Law that seek to govern it, as well as issues related to the conduct of combatants and impact of Urban Warfare on civilians affected by it. Some of the topics we covered are:

Abby and Ruben’s backgrounds and entry into the ICRC
Understanding ‘good faith interpretation’ in International Humanitarian Law (IHL)
Defining ‘urban warfare’
Three reason why urban areas are frequently targeted by belligerents
Challenges for IHL in urban warfare
Impact of war on moral frameworks
Lessons captured in ‘Commander’s Handbook on reducing civilian harm in Urban Warfare’
Importance of appropriate doctrine and training for urban warfare
Impact of culture on understanding and application of IHL
Convincing belligerents of the value of IHL
The costs of non-compliance
The role of technology in urban warfare
Passionate discussion about Samuel Moyn’s thesis that humane war is more palatable to domestic audiences and therefore makes war a more appealing political option
Second and third order effects of urban warfare on civilians
Key lessons for those fighting urban wars to keep in mind

We referred to a couple of important documents during our chat. You can find the links to those below:

Some additional resources you might find of interest are:

61. Brigadier Mark Ascough - On Military Intelligence Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Today, I’m speaking with Brigadier Mark Ascough, who is the current Director General of Intelligence at the Headquarters Joint Operations Command of the Australian Defence Force.

Brigadier Ascough joined me to talk about all things intelligence and how he sees the field evolve into the future. Some of the things we covered are:

Mark’s background and entry into the Army
Life as the J2, HQJOC
The role of ‘Intelligence’
Impact of the ‘Five Mores’
Challenges for future intelligence professionals
Dangers of bias in intelligence analysis
Moral courage in intelligence
Training for ethical challenges
Importance of understanding culture
Intelligence – too much or not enough power?
Leadership in intelligence

-----

If you like what you hear, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee page on the links below:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevoicesofwar

60. Dr Tony Ingesson - On military sub-cultures and their impact on behaviour Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

My guest today in Dr Tony Ingesson, who is an Assistant Professor of Intelligence Analysis at the Department of Political Science at Lund University in Sweden. His current research interests are decision-making, organisational cultures and technological aspects related to intelligence and counterintelligence. For his PhD dissertation, Tony studied tactical decision-making in high-stress situations in several different military units conducting operations in wars ranging from WWII to the UN mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the early 90s.

He joins me today to discuss organisational culture, sub-cultures and their impact on group behaviour. Some of the topics we discussed are:

Tony’s background and service in all three arms of the Swedish Armed Forces
Conscription in Sweden
Cultures within Armed Forces
Defining ‘culture’ and its influence on behaviour
Culture as a tool for management of ‘Stress’ and ‘Uncertainty’
The role of symbols and tradition
Nordbat 2 in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Swedish ‘Mission Command’ and its origin
Reality of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Nordbat 2 in combat despite restrictive UN Rules Of Engagement
Swedish high-trust culture and its impact on the Swedish Armed Forces
Training against bias in intelligence analysis
Why members of a military are not ‘professionals’
Exploring whether we are asking too much from our soldiers

-----

If you like what you hear, please consider liking and reviewing the show wherever you get your pods. You can also support the show on our Patreon and Buy Me A Coffee page on the links below:

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thevoicesofwar

Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/thevoicesofwar

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected