Wars are expensive and relatively rare, and so states have strong incentives to learn from war and improve their military performance over time. And yet, even in highly capable great power militaries, the lessons of previous wars are routinely lost. Why do militaries forget what they learn in war? Examining evidence from three cases across the American experiences in Vietnam and Iraq, this project explores the role of in organizational survival in post-war learning.

The speaker has provided some recommended reading - please see www.ccw.ox.ac.uk for links.

“Protean war” offers a compelling new paradigm for scholars studying complex conflicts in international relations. Some scholarship in foreign policy history and political science attempts to fit complicated wars, with multiple, varied actors, into conventional typologies, such as “civil war,” “interstate war,” or “proxy war.” The “protean war” paradigm, rather than narrowing a conflict down into one of these types, offers a convenient framework for layering in the civil, proxy, and interstate dimensions of a particular conflict.

The discussion about greyzone threats mostly focuses on easy-to-identify forms of aggression including cyber intrusions and disinformation campaigns. That’s a shame, because other forms are at least as dangerous. Subversive economics, for example. While Western countries benefit from their open borders and the commerce this generates, some countries exploit that openness to strengthen their geopolitical position while weakening that of the targeted countries. It involves buying up key companies and using venture-capital investments to access the best innovation early on.

Following the 'tilt' to the Indo Pacific announced in the Integrated Review last month, the First Sea Lord has confirmed the forward deployment of a Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessel to support the UK's wider regional interests. Some have commented that an OPV is not fit for the task. This talk examines the platform options open to the Royal Navy and supports the case that, at this moment in time, OPVs are the right platform for the task.

M. Taylor Fravel is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor studies international relations, with a focus on international security, China, and East Asia. His books include, Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China’s Territorial Disputes, (Princeton University Press, 2008) and Active Defense: China's Military Strategy Since 1949 (Princeton University Press, 2019).