Sarah C. M. Paine - WW2, Taiwan, Ukraine, & Maritime vs Continental Powers

I learned so much from Sarah Paine, Professor of History and Strategy at the Naval War College.

We discuss:

- how continental vs maritime powers think and how this explains Xi & Putin's decisions
- how a war with China over Taiwan would shake out and whether it could go nuclear
- why the British Empire fell apart, why China went communist, how Hitler and Japan could have coordinated to win WW2, and whether Japanese occupation was good for Korea, Taiwan and Manchuria
- plus other lessons from WW2, Cold War, and Sino-Japanese War
- how to study history properly, and why leaders keep making the same mistakes

Timestamps
(0:00:00) - Grand strategy
(0:11:59) - Death ground
(0:23:19) - WW1
(0:39:23) - Writing history
(0:50:25) - Japan in WW2
(0:59:58) - Ukraine
(1:10:50) - Japan/Germany vs Iraq/Afghanistan occupation
(1:21:25) - Chinese invasion of Taiwan
(1:51:26) - Communists & Axis
(2:08:34) - Continental vs maritime powers

[kraigadams]

saw a short, watched this full thing. regret nothing

[mattp.]

I had forgotten what it was like to actually learn things from a person who actually wants to teach them

[cooterhead_jones]

Where has this lady been all my YouTube life?

[johnmayberry]

I am a teacher and the fact that she said I don't know a few times was soooo refreshing! The honesty and the fact that she didn't try to come up with something out of thin air and still speak with confidence was wonderful! I could listen to her for years!!!!

[derrickmarais]

Whenever the moderator asks a Zeihan style speculative question and she just says "I don't know". I appreciate that.

[antoniospappas]

The professor snatched a good interview out of the jaws of these questions.

[Khangel]

“I can make bad spelling errors in numerous languages”. Her comment on reading source materials in the original languages. So much respect for her!

[sebastianreyes]

I’m 12 minutes into this conversation and this woman is a juggernaut, an absolute encyclopedia of history, war history. She incredibly smart and eloquent. i’m buying whatever book she has written

[smartereveryday]

Bookmarking this to watch later. She is incredible, and it must have been an honor to have this conversation with her.

[evillemike]

There's nothing better than having somebody who really knows her subject explain important stuff to me. Best 2 ½ hours I've spent in while.

[Zero_Zero_Zero_Zero]

The depth of this woman's historical understanding and it's accompanying context is nothing short of awe inspiring. What a brilliant human. Thank you to everyone responsible for making this publicly available.
It was genuinely a public service.
Gratitude.

[yokumato]

Besides her erudition and talent, she is also very gracious taking some of the weak questions and answering them properly and even with wit. Excellent!

[thomasesau]

I sincerely wish (hope) that Dr Paine could have a weekly (or monthly) video for YouTube. This is the most cogent, articulate, and intelligent lecture on Global Strategic concepts that I've ever heard. It makes me wish The Naval War College had a community college off sight night classes.

[ajwaddanwarr]

What I love the most about her is that she speaks like an elder statesman who wants to ready the next generation rather than talking down to them. Its like I spent a lifetime studying and here is what I learned, now its your turn to go study.

[davidyang]

The fact that host he talks about death numbers in WW2 as if they were numbers on paper, while the lady talks about it with respect and a sense of unease shows that she knows much better about that horrifying part of history in Europe and Asia.

[TopKnoxFishing]

To hear an expert in a field say "I don't know" is the most refreshing thing I've seen all year.

[vivianbenge]

This interviewer seems intent on asking 'what if' questions rooted in fantasy and lack of historical knowledge and political understanding. Dr. Paine does a great job of bringing it back to the real processes and concepts that are foundational to understanding.

[joannasowinska]

I am Polish - what she said about Eastern Europe and NATO is 100% true! We cannot not live our lives because of how Russians feel.

[ChairmanMeow]

This women has two PHDs in Russian culture, and Chinese culture. An MIA from Columbia in Public Affairs, and an MA in Russian language. She also writes and works for the US Naval War College. She knows her stuff!!!

[alphonso]

I’m British and been subjected to British historians debating WW1 for decades and she sums up the error Britain made in getting involved in the WW1 land war in 2 sentences.