Jack Watling – författare

Gripping . . . packed with fascinating detail' – Financial Times‘Indispensable – brilliantly grounded in first-hand experience. Compelling’ – Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge‘Anyone interested in geopolitics should read it’ – Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, IncHow do states actually exercise power in an age of chaos?From top defense analyst Dr. Jack Watling, Statecraft reveals the hidden mechanics of global influence. While we watch the headlines, Watling takes us inside the bunkers and wood-paneled offices where the real decisions are made.In this urgent analysis, you will discover:The Iran Paradox: How a sanctioned nation controls global energy prices despite US military might.The Russia-Ukraine Lesson: Why a superpower struggled against a smaller neighbor in the opening months of the invasion.The Aircraft Carrier Dilemma: Why the UK spends billions on hardware it can barely support at sea.The Future of Taiwan: What the shifting ‘rules of power’ mean for the next great flashpoint.Middle Powers: How do smaller countries build leverage and stay off the menu?Whether it’s economic alliances, sea power, or the latest military technology, Watling provides a powerful new lens to understand a world that feels increasingly out of control.

Gripping . . . packed with fascinating detail' – Financial Times‘Indispensable – brilliantly grounded in first-hand experience. Compelling’ – Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge‘Anyone interested in geopolitics should read it’ – Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, IncHow do states actually exercise power in an age of chaos?From top defense analyst Dr. Jack Watling, Statecraft reveals the hidden mechanics of global influence. While we watch the headlines, Watling takes us inside the bunkers and wood-paneled offices where the real decisions are made.In this urgent analysis, you will discover:The Iran Paradox: How a sanctioned nation controls global energy prices despite US military might.The Russia-Ukraine Lesson: Why a superpower struggled against a smaller neighbor in the opening months of the invasion.The Aircraft Carrier Dilemma: Why the UK spends billions on hardware it can barely support at sea.The Future of Taiwan: What the shifting ‘rules of power’ mean for the next great flashpoint.Middle Powers: How do smaller countries build leverage and stay off the menu?Whether it’s economic alliances, sea power, or the latest military technology, Watling provides a powerful new lens to understand a world that feels increasingly out of control.

From sensor-fuzed munitions and autonomous weapons, to ground moving target indication radar, laser vibrometers and artificial intelligence, the weapons of warfare are undergoing a rapid transformation, with modern technologies reshaping how armies intend to fight in the twenty-first century. The Arms of the Future analyses how the emergence of novel weapons systems is shaping the risks and opportunities on the battlefield. Drawing on extensive practical observation and experimentation, the book unpacks the operational challenges new weapons pose on the battlefield and how armies might be structured to overcome them. At a time when defence spending across NATO is on the rise, and conflict with Russia raises new questions of what it means to fight a truly 'modern' war, Watling examines not just the arms to be employed but how they can be fielded and wielded to survive and prevail in future wars.

Using hard power in the context of an expanding set of threats is complex, expensive and risky. European medium powers, especially, must make tough choices on the future capabilities, roles and equipment of their armed forces, as well as their ability to act independently of alliance partners. Decision Points: Rationalising the Armed Forces of European Medium Powers examines these trade-offs and calls for policymakers to approach each key decision on the future of their country’s armed forces with a clearer sense of the consequences for the state’s foreign policy.

A new era of great power competition places a strategic premium on the efficiency with which states can pursue their aims. There is therefore likely to be an expanded scope for partnered operations. Partner force capacity building has a long history, with very mixed results, yet there is little historical memory in the institutions tasked with carrying it out. War by Others’ Means uses archival research, interviews with practitioners, and observation of capacity building to understand why states undertake it, how they should select, train and equip their partners, and how they should manage the generation and withdrawal of trainers.

Dominant narratives about the changing character of warfare and the revolutionary effect of technological advancement lack nuance and can ultimately be detrimental to the development of a defence capability fit for future purpose.

‘Gripping . . . packed with fascinating detail’ – Financial Times‘Indispensable – brilliantly grounded in first-hand experience. Compelling’ – Rory Stewart, author of Politics on the Edge‘Anyone interested in geopolitics should read it’ – Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, IncHow do states actually exercise power in an age of chaos?From top defense analyst Dr Jack Watling, Statecraft reveals the hidden mechanics of global influence. While we watch the headlines, Watling takes us inside the bunkers and wood-panelled offices where the real decisions are made.In this urgent analysis, you will discover:The Iran Paradox: How a sanctioned nation controls global energy prices despite US military might.The Russia–Ukraine Lesson: Why a superpower struggled against a smaller neighbour in the opening months of the invasion.The Aircraft Carrier Dilemma: Why the UK spends billions on hardware it can barely support at sea.The Future of Taiwan: What the shifting ‘rules of power’ mean for the next great flashpoint.Middle Powers: How do smaller countries build leverage and stay off the menu?Whether it’s economic alliances, sea power or the latest military technology, Watling provides a powerful new lens to understand a world that feels increasingly out of control.

The British military spent 20 years fighting in Afghanistan. Considering the UK’s achievements against its objectives, defeat seems the most accurate description of the campaign’s outcome. How institutions respond to and learn from failure is a good measure of their effectiveness. But Britain's war in Afganistan also saw considerable tactical and operational learning to solve complex problems. Not only are some of the solutions valuable, but the processes by which they were derived bear study. The question is whether these lessons will be retained. This Whitehall Paper delves into some of the many valuable and hard-won lessons that can be derived from a study of British operations in Afganistan, beginning a conversation as to their relevance for future British miliatry undertakings.

From sensor-fuzed munitions and autonomous weapons, to ground moving target indication radar, laser vibrometers and artificial intelligence, the weapons of warfare are undergoing a rapid transformation, with modern technologies reshaping how armies intend to fight in the twenty-first century. The Arms of the Future analyses how the emergence of novel weapons systems is shaping the risks and opportunities on the battlefield. Drawing on extensive practical observation and experimentation, the book unpacks the operational challenges new weapons pose on the battlefield and how armies might be structured to overcome them. At a time when defence spending across NATO is on the rise, and conflict with Russia raises new questions of what it means to fight a truly 'modern' war, Watling examines not just the arms to be employed but how they can be fielded and wielded to survive and prevail in future wars.