It has become axiomatic that cultural intelligence is key to success in counterinsurgency operations. But is it? This episode examines this assumption, exploring whether the cultural training we receive in the military is indeed the linchpin to success—or a red herring, even a harmful distractor, in the absence of coherent strategy. Why does cultural awareness tend to be absent at the strategic level, and does this really matter? Our guests on this episode, Sir Simon Mayall and Dr. Christian Tripodi, discuss these questions and more, including what cultural awareness should mean in the context of counterinsurgency and, looking ahead, in the era of great power competition.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
This episode contemplates lessons learned from America’s twenty years of war in Afghanistan. To do so, we're joined by Dr. Carter Malkasian, author of ...
Russia, China, and Iran have all been learning how to conduct irregular warfare from the United States, modeling their approaches to IW on observations...
Subscribe to the IWI monthly newsletter by going to www.irregularwarfare.org! Is peace the natural order of things for the human race and war an...