Clausewitz’s descriptions of friction, taken with the often antagonistic interplay among his trinity of passion, policy, and probability, keep war in theory separate from war in practice. How does this look in real war? In this episode, I make my best guess about how friction and chaotic trinity might affect Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

If you missed the previous two episodes, I recommend that you take the time to do so before listening to this one.

• E97: Friction in War

https://admin5.podbean.com/mayhemxpc/episodes/form/00XlnMhGdsld

• E98: The Paradoxical Trinity of War (and Peace)

https://admin5.podbean.com/mayhemxpc/episodes/form/zpdgaRh85TV2

Reference:

• Clausewitz, C. On War, Book One, Chapter One

(Note that I do not cite a specific publication of On War. I use different translations and the original German. Find a version that work best for you.)

Music:

• Liszt, F. Totentanz; Nebolsin, Eldar(piano), Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Petrenko, Vasily (Conductor) https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.570517  (Chosen because I was looking for chaotic music.)

• The Army Strings, GarryOwen (Traditional) (Public Domain)