War and Power: Who Wins Wars

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Western Civ

Adam Walsh

531 episodes

1 day ago

A fast-moving history of the western world from the ancient world to the present day. Examine how the emergence of the western world as a global dominant power was not something that should ever have been taken for granted. This podcast traces the development of western civilization starting in the ancient Near East, through Greece and Rome, past the collapse of the Western Roman Empire into the Dark Ages, and then follows European and, ultimately, American history as the western world moved into a dominant world position.

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Society & Culture

Education,

History

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War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why

Western Civ

49 minutes

1 week ago

War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why

In this bonus interview, I sit down with Phillips Payson O'Brien and we discuss his latest book: War and Power: Who Wins Wars—and Why.

For nearly two centuries, international relations have been premised on the idea of the “Great Powers.” As the thinking went, these mighty states—the European empires of the nineteenth century, the United States and the USSR during the Cold War—were uniquely able to exert their influence on the world stage because of their overwhelming military capabilities. But as military historian Phillips Payson O’Brien argues in War and Power, this conception of power fails to capture the more complicated truth about how wars are fought and won.

Our focus on the importance of large, well-equipped armies and conclusive battles has obscured the foundational forces that underlie military victories and the actual mechanics of successful warfare. O’Brien suggests a new framework of “full-spectrum powers,” taking into account all of the diverse factors that make a state strong—from economic and technological might, to political stability, to the complex logistics needed to maintain forces in the field.
Drawing on examples ranging from Napoleon’s France to today’s ascendant China, War and Power offers a critical new understanding of what makes a power truly great. It is vital reading in today’s perilous world.

Buy The Book Here

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