Unrestricted Warfare, The Siege of Jadotville, and the Turkish Story of Progress

In Episode #3 of the “Geopolitical Musings with Confluence” podcast, Confluence Consultants Partner & Asia Power Watch Editor Nicolas Michelon discusses with Research Specialist & Podcast Host Amandeep Kaur Ahuja issues ranging from hybrid warfare, asymetric warfare and grey-zone tactics to the impact of technology on great power competition, the timeless aspects of resource conflicts and economic diplomacy strategies by “middle powers” such as Turkey.

In discussing the book “Unrestricted Warfare”, by PLAAF officers QIAO Liang & WANG XiangSui, we address the extent to which conflict has come to impact competing nations beyond the realm of traditional armed confrontation, and how economic warfare, trade wars, lawfare, financial markets, technological norms & standards, information warfare and cognitive encirclement are being used to wage war “from the weak to the strong”.

Delving into the movie “The Siege of Jadotville”, we are reminded that, in spite of technological innovation and the increasingly massive use of drones, AI and deep fakes on the battlefield, the objectives of most contemporary conflicts remain unchanged from those prevailing in the 1960s: the control over critical raw materials.

Finally, fresh from two business trips in Turkey where we attended conferences and business forums on soft power and bilateral economic relations with Africa, we reflect on the opportunities for regional “middle powers” to capitalize on the retreat of Europe’s influence in the Global South and project economic power.

The main takeaway? Technology should not fool us: we still very much live in a XIX century-style “Might Is Right” world…

The video podcast can be seen here:

Picture credits: Confluence Consultants