About Stephen Satkiewicz

Independent scholar whose research areas are related to Civilizational Analysis, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, military history, War studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, as well as Russian and East European history. I served as the editor for the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations (ISCSC) newsletter from 2016-2018.

Stephen Satkiewicz is an independent scholar whose research areas are related to Civilizational Analysis, Social Complexity, Big History, Historical Sociology, military history, War studies, International Relations, Geopolitics, as well as Russian and East European history.

Stephen's website

NBN Episodes hosted by Stephen:

Ilmari Käihkö, "'Slava Ukraini!': Strategy and the Spirit of Ukrainian Resistance 2014–2023" (Helsinki UP, 2023)

March 5, 2024

“Slava Ukraini!”

Ilmari Käihkö

In wake of the Maiden Revolution of 2013-14, the pro-Russian government of Ukraine under Viktor Yanukovych was overthrown in place of a regime seeking…

Beatrice Heuser, "War: A Genealogy of Western Ideas and Practices" (Oxford UP, 2022)

February 3, 2024

War

Beatrice Heuser

War is often thought of mainly the concern of professional soldiers and maybe politicians as well. However, philosophers and theorists of varying type…

Curtis Fox, "Hybrid Warfare: The Russian Approach to Strategic Competition and Conventional Military Conflict" (30 Press Publishing, 2023)

January 30, 2024

Hybrid Warfare

Curtis Fox

The on-going war in Ukraine continues to highlight the distinct differences between how Russia operates large-scale military operations from the usual…

Paddy Walker and Peter Roberts, "War's Changed Landscape?: A Primer on Conflict's Forms and Norms" (Howgate, 2023)

January 27, 2024

War's Changed Landscape?

Paddy Walker and Peter Roberts

Throughout much of the 21st century thus far, the common argument among military pundits was that war has or will soon be radically changed in manners…

Andrew Monaghan and Richard Connolly. "The Sea in Russian Strategy" (Manchester UP, 2023)

November 22, 2023

The Sea in Russian Strategy

Andrew Monaghan and Richard Connolly

The common perception of Russia's status as a great power is often portrayed as being based largely on land power. Being the largest country in the wo…

Anthony Tucker-Jones, "Battle of the Cities: Urban Warfare on the Eastern Front" (Pen & Sword Military, 2023)

November 17, 2023

Battle of the Cities

Anthony Tucker-Jones

The common image of World War II (1939-1945) is that of swift armored maneuver advances supported by combined arms, especially overwhelming air suppor…

Roger R. Reese, "Russia's Army: A History from the Napoleonic Wars to the War in Ukraine" (U Oklahoma Press, 2023)

November 5, 2023

Russia's Army

Roger R. Reese

Czar Alexander III (1845-1894) is reported to have stated that "Russia only has two allies: the army and the navy." Military power has always been imp…

Peter Layton, "Grand Strategy" (2018)

November 4, 2023

Grand Strategy

Peter Layton

With the revival of great power competition in international relations, the term "grand strategy" has also encountered a considerable revival from its…

Prit Buttar, "To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42" (Osprey, 2023)

September 14, 2023

To Besiege a City: Leningrad 1941-42

Prit Buttar

The city of St. Petersburg held great significance to the Russian Empire when Peter the Great first built the city in 1703. It was intended to be Russ…

M. Todd Bennett, "Neither Confirm Nor Deny: How the Glomar Mission Shielded the CIA from Transparency" (Columbia UP, 2022)

June 20, 2023

Neither Confirm Nor Deny

M. Todd Bennett
Listen:

When the Soviet K-129 submarine sank in the Pacific Ocean in 1968, the CIA saw a possible treasure trove of intelligence information on Soviet militar…

Susan McCall Perlman, "Contesting France: Intelligence and US Foreign Policy in the Early Cold War" (Cambridge UP, 2023)

June 16, 2023

Contesting France

Susan McCall Perlman
Listen:

With the defeat of France in 1940 by the Germans during World War II, its status as a world power was deeply shaken. It wasn't until the liberatio…

Robert Kershaw, "Dünkirchen 1940: The German View of Dunkirk" (Osprey, 2022)

May 23, 2023

Dünkirchen 1940

Robert Kershaw

The surprise success of the German offensive in the West that commenced on May 10, 1940 caught the Allies completely off-guard, and France would soon …

Philip Clayton Shackelford, "Rise of the Mavericks: The U.S. Air Force Security Service and the Cold War" (US Naval Institute Press, 2023)

May 7, 2023

Rise of the Mavericks

Philip Clayton Shackelford

The U.S. Air Force had to struggle to establish itself as an independent branch of the American military, and originally was an extension of the Army.…

Deborah Bauer, "Marianne Is Watching: Intelligence, Counterintelligence, and the Origins of the French Surveillance State" (U Nebraska Press, 2021)

May 1, 2023

Marianne Is Watching

Deborah Bauer

In the wake of its defeat in the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), the French Third Republic sought to rebuild its strength to avenge its defeat and secu…

Andrew Long, "Secrets of the Cold War: Espionage and Intelligence Operations from Both Sides of the Iron Curtain" (Pen and Sword History, 2022)

April 11, 2023

Secrets of the Cold War

Andrew Long

The Cold War was a major geopolitical contest between the United States and the Soviet Union over predominance over the entire world. Unlike the previ…

Keir Giles, "Russia's War on Everybody: And What it Means for You" (Bloomsbury, 2023)

March 31, 2023

Russia's War on Everybody

Keir Giles

With the annexation of Crimea in 2014 as well the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia's place in the world is a matter of fierce debate among world le…

David LePoire, "Time Patterns in Big History: Cycles, Fractals, Waves, Transitions, and Singularities" (2020)

March 22, 2023

Time Patterns in Big History

David LePoire

There is the common saying, “history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Are there any discernible patterns in history, and if so, what are t…

Joseph T. Stuart, "Christopher Dawson: A Cultural Mind in the Age of the Great War" (Catholic U of America Press, 2022)

February 24, 2023

Christopher Dawson

Joseph T. Stuart

Christopher Dawson (1889-1970) was a British historian who was deeply shaken by the Great War (1914-1918) and sought to explore the history of differe…

Anthony Tucker-Jones, "Kursk 1943: Hitler's Bitter Harvest" (History Press, 2018)

February 4, 2023

Kursk 1943

Anthony Tucker-Jones

The year 1943 was a pivotal one on the Eastern Front during World War II. The Axis had suffered a catastrophic defeat at the battle of Stalingrad earl…

John Spencer and Liam Collins, "Understanding Urban Warfare" (Howgate Publishing Limited, 2022)

November 23, 2022

Understanding Urban Warfare

John Spencer and Liam Collins

With the growing urbanization of the world's population, it also follows that much of contemporary military operations would also be conducted within …

Lowell Gustafson, "Religion, Space, and Deep Time" (Routledge, 2022)

November 8, 2022

Religion, Space, and Deep Time

Lowell Gustafson, Barry Rodrigue, and David Blanks

The issue of how science and religion relate to one another has been a major controversy of our age. It helped fuel the rise of the New Atheist moveme…

Clay Vagrant, "The Empire's Bladesmen: Forbidden Relics" (Armored History, 2021)

October 24, 2022

The Empire's Bladesmen

Clay Vagrant

Set during the Ming Dynasty that ruled over China, The Empire's Bladesmen: Forbidden Relics (Amored History, 2021) by Clay Vagrant is a gripping story…

Ofer Fridman, "Russian 'Hybrid Warfare': Resurgence and Politicization" (Oxford UP, 2022)

October 6, 2022

Russian 'Hybrid Warfare'

Ofer Fridman

When Russia occupied the Crimea in 2014, a term appeared called “hybrid warfare” to describe the doctrine and strategies of the Russian military. One …

Andrew Monaghan, "Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition" (Manchester UP, 2022)

June 20, 2022

Russian Grand Strategy in the Era of Global Power Competition

Andrew Monaghan

The status of Russia as a world power has been fiercely debated since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Although often ignored, Russia came back into …