Peter White

Sharing this recent podcast by me on how civil-military relations (ideally) should work in liberal democracies.

See here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsma...

I’ve done this for 2 weeks now and it *absolutely rules*. Best class discussions I’ve ever had. Best engagement with readings. They write in this worksheet for 15 minutes, then talk about their responses in groups of 3-4, then groups share with the whole class, and *then* we talk about the readings

Hoping he adapts the awesome Chernow biography--and I hope it's titled "Unconditional Surrender"

Letter to the Editor | Beware AI in classrooms - The Auburn Plainsman AI is taking over in classrooms. To be clear, this is a powerful technology with many useful applications, including in the university setting. There is evidence that it can aid in some aspects o...

I wrote a "Letter to the Editor" of our student newspaper on AI in student writing

www.theplainsman.com/article/2025...

Important perspective from @risabrooks12.bsky.social, one of the sharpest civ-mil experts around. The military can't save democracy, but in my judgment they can and should save their profession by defending its values.

My take is that senior officers are completely unprepared for this moment.

When demo is healthy, there is little tension btw adhering to civilian control & serving democracy

Faced w/ the manifest clash in principles these missions present, they are doing what's familiar--following orders.1/

On Order, Authority, and Modern Civil-Military Relations, by Lindsay P. Cohn, published by Bloomsbury Academic

I’m excited that my first book is available for pre-order and will come out at the end of the month!
It looks at how to think about military ethics from a perspective of upholding democratic governance and values. Everyone can just ignore the chapter on Augustine unless you REALLY like Augustine 😂

Great, thanks--now I have the Voyage of the Mimi theme song stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

My story. Told my way with truth and as much grace I can muster. Thank you, Tom.

Delighted to share that my work with @profteigen.bsky.social is out!

We test the often touted assumption/claim that people who live near military bases in the US will be more conservative/Republican. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, we find NO link.

So why has this myth persisted? 1/

Everything Lindsay said! Happy to share my recent @jpeaceresearch.bsky.social article with anyone who wants to learn more about the relationship between military recruitment practices and conflict initiation. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Friends, followers, and colleagues: some professional news, as they say.

After four wonderful years with the US Army War College, I resigned my position effective May 2, 2025. 1/

I am delighted to announce that the first H-Diplo|RJISSF roundtable I have had the pleasure to organize has been published! Check out the discussion of @tanishafazal.bsky.social’s excellent book, Military Medicine and the Hidden Costs of War, here: networks.h-net.org/group/discus...

the 3rd district includes a lot of commuters to Columbus, GA/Ft. Moore/Benning--Phenix City/Smiths Station, AL are basically suburbs of Columbus, GA

Donate to Help Sarah & Greg Recover After Devastating Wildfire, organized by Maura Roosevelt Our dear friends Sarah Paule and Greg Berger lost their house in … Maura Roosevelt needs your support for Help Sarah & Greg Recover After Devastating Wildfire

Please consider helping my good buddy, Greg, and his family, who lost their house and all their belongings in the LA fires. The post also lists some great charities that are helping on the ground in LA that are also worthy of your help:

gofund.me/0d8b87c7

Me too. I hope Dennis Leary does for the military what he did for the fire department.

Denis Leary Comedy Series ‘Going Dutch’ Ordered At Fox Denis Leary to star in the newly greenlit single-camera comedy 'Going Dutch from creator/showrunner Joel Church-Cooper & Fox Entertainment Studios

Can we PLEASE have a CivMilSky watch party when this premiers? I'm so excited about the prospect of a military workplace comedy. deadline.com/2024/05/deni...

Ok, let’s have a conversation about the true cost of the AVF, which it appears Elon and Vivek are just now discovering. But also why it’s the best system we have and why advocates for a return to the draft are fundamentally unserious. Buckle up for a fun #civmilsky thread 1/

How Massasoit, a savvy Indigenous leader, kept peace with the Pilgrims for decades Facing threats from local rivals and deadly epidemics, the Native American leader used his alliance with the English to protect his people.

“Entire villages disappeared as the survivors abandoned the scenes of this nightmare. The lost communities included Tisquantum’s home of Patuxet, on the very site where the English would later found Plymouth.”

President Biden Selects 2024 Presidential Rank Awards Winners Lock Welcome to opm.gov

While I’m here, some incredible public servants honored last week with Presidential Rank awards. These folks launched the James Webb telescope, took on the Fentanyl epidemic, did heroic work to modernize the energy grid and much more. www.opm.gov/news/release....

Exciting news from MicroProse on the digital version of my "Littoral Commander Indo-Pacific" #wargame. I am really excited to see the early access version in April 2025. #wargaming

You've got to put the land acknowledgements in between two trigger warnings or else the bread will get soggy

Hello! I thought a list of women scholars in conflict and security studies could be helpful! Let me know if you want to be added/removed! go.bsky.app/Np3NivX

I have to teach a class rn but will come back to this to explain
1) National Guard stuff
2) Domestic use of federal forces stuff

Ok, some thoughts:
1) this will be one of the biggest civil-military crises this country has ever seen.
2) it will have drastic negative effects on our military readiness and effectiveness
I’ll expand a little on each point below.
1/

Lindsay's point is really important. One of the big advantages the US military has over China's is that historically, the US civil-military relationships has not featured "subjective" control measures like purges and loyalty tests. This would be a major un-forced error in US competition with China.