48. MAJGEN Mick Ryan: On the Russian invasion and his recent book ’War Transformed’

My guest today is MAJGEN Mick Ryan, who only days ago officially retired from more than 35 years of service in the Australian Army. During this time, he has deployed on multiple overseas deployments, has commanded troops at platoon, squadron, regiment, task force, and brigade level, and among the many awards for service and excellence he has received, in 2008, Mick was also awarded the Order of Australia for distinguished leadership of the Australian 1st Reconstruction Task Force in Afghanistan.

He is a recognised expert in leadership, institutional strategy, technology, organisational adaptation and change management, institutional reform, as well as personnel development. Mick is also a prolific writer and speaker, with a particular focus on thinking about and preparing for the battlespace of the future.

This is also what his recently published book is all about. It is titled ‘War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power Competition and Conflict’ and is a deep dive into how four key disruptors, namely geopolitics, demographics, technology, and climate change, will impact great power rivalry. In short, Mick explores how the dynamics of the nascent fourth industrial revolution and its interplay with the ongoing changes in the way we live as well as dramatic shifts in global affairs will transform tomorrow’s wars.

He joined me today to talk about his book and how it relates to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Some of the topics we covered are:

• Nature vs. Character of war
• Russian vs. Ukrainian Information Operations
• Why Putin is fundamentally losing, so far
• The role of surprise in this invasion
• Re-emergence of Europe
• Russian military deficiencies
• Two principal decisions Ukraine is facing
• The importance of time in the current war
• Importance of leadership in war
• Critical role of logistics
• Impact of the Russian invasion on China
• Are ‘our’ wars, different to ‘their’ wars?
• 21st Century as showdown between Democracy vs. Authoritarianism
• Lessons learnt from the Russian invasion

You can find out more about MAJGEN Mick Ryan here. I also recommend you follow his Twitter page (@WarintheFuture) for regular updates on the current crisis and beyond. Lastly, you can view and purchase his book 'War Transformed: The Future of 21st Century Great Power Competition and Conflict' here.