3. Dr Mike Martin - a Soldier-Philosopher

Today I’m speaking with Dr Mike Martin, a former British Army Officer who has since become a prominent speaker and writer on conflict, particularly its causes. Mike has published several books on the subject, including ‘An Intimate War: An Oral History of the Helmand Conflict 1978-2012’—which landed him in some hot water—and ‘Why We Fight’, a deep dive into the evolutionary reasons for war and conflict. More recently, Mike has been engaged by the Australian Defence Force to deliver a course on the impact cultural understanding can have on a conflict as a way to improve our collective understanding of the wars we have been a part of and are likely to be involved with in the future. Some of the topics we covered on this podcast include:

• His reasons for delving into the profession of arms, both as a participant as well as a scholar of it
• The true nature of war
• Sense of belonging and the pull of ideology
• The importance of the local context, particularly when fighting a war
• The failings of the war in Afghanistan
• Mike’s personal battle with getting his book ‘An Intimate War’ published
• The five social problems we need to solve to prevent violence
• The current crisis in the United States

You can find out more about Mike and his work on http://www.threshedthought.com/, including information on his books ‘An Intimate War – An Oral History of the Helmand Conflict 1978-2012’, ‘Crossing The Congo’ and ‘Why We Fight’.