Spartan Spirit Leadership

Donald Trump said "“No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want. You gotta pay.”  This was said in reference to defense spending, with particular reference to NATO nations that are not achieving the bench mark of 2% Gross Domestic Product on defense. 

NATO's existence depends on mutual self-defense, thus Trump's comments can be construed as an exist...

Although Nikki Haley dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination only days before this episode was published, her stance on US Foreign Aid was informative; particularly given the debate raging in the US over immigration and foreign aid. This episode explores the issue of foreign aid provided by Western nations, including: 

• What is foreign aid?
• Historical examples.
• The UN's Sustainable Development Goals
• US aid to Isra...

Significant portions of Western society's citizens support legalization of marijuana. Some countries (e.g., Canada) have legalized widespread marijuana use. Many others have not. This episode details the facts around marijuana use, including societal views and medical research about the effects of marijuana use. 

Interestingly, very few Western leaders take a definitive stand on how to deal with the legalization of ma...

In late 2023 and early 2024, the Ukrainian-Russian war settled into a stalemate, leading some to ponder whether Ukraine should seek a peace settlement with Russia. Alongside those musings, the US was unable to pass much-needed funding for Ukraine's war effort.

Put another way, it appears that some elements of Western Society are already waning in their support for Ukraine. 

David Cameron is one of the voices ...

This episode describes the Global Rules Based Order, its history, and how it is functioning in modern society. 

Lloyd Austin is the US Secretary of Defense, and he gave a speech at the Reagan National Defense Forum in December 2023 in which he argued in favor of the Rules Based Order and the US's role in defending that order. 

Also covered are views about the Rules Based Order from: Japan’s PM Kishida, US Sec...

Spartan Spirit Leadership presents you with a view of your leaders and potential leaders, and the bureaucrats and party leaders that support them, from the perspective of which of them is best for Western society as a whole, or put another way, those which have the Spartan Spirit.

The balance between individual rights, democracy and national power is a difficult balance to maintain, but that balance and the way of life we...

This Episode of 'Spartan Spirit - Best for the West' details the growing refugee crisis. It covers:

• The history of refugee movements
• Global perspectives on refugees
• Germany's intake of refugees in 2015
• Where refugees are from, where they are now, and where they want to go.
• UN initiatives
• and the impact on Western societies.

This is the last of the 'Best for the West' series. Series 2 is titled 'Spart...

The Antarctic Treaty System came into effect in 1961 and was signed by 12 countries, with 7 of them making claims on Antarctic territory. There are now over 50 countries signed up to the Antarctic Treaty System, but the treaty is set to expire in 2049.  

China, Russia, the USA, along with other middle-minor powers, are preparing to negotiate a new treaty, with some of them wanting to abandon the extant system that focuses ...

The West has a conundrum on its hands when it comes to dealing with China. What is best for the West in relation to China ranges somewhere on the sliding scale of being hard-nosed and de-risking our economies and security concerns by disengaging from China and confronting their expansion, to the other end of the spectrum where we hope that we never have a conflict and that we can just keep going along trading and being pals and ign...

This episode considers the trend towards individualism in modern western militaries and the impact that is having on capability. 

Many militaries around the world are relaxing their military dress codes, adopting more freedoms for their uniformed members, and allowing for a more individual-centric mind-set in how the military is run.  Topics covered:

• Group dynamics vs individualism
• Why modern militaries are taking this a...

The special issue and early release (replacing the planned episode on Individualism in the Military) of this episode comes in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas attack on Israel of 7 Oct 2023, and Israel's consequent response. 

Ethics in the conduct of war are central to this conflict. 

The episode details the Law of Armed Conflict and asks you to consider what you think is 'Just' and permissible ...

This is the second of a two-part series on political correctness. The first was about language use and this one covers  the Woke movement and cancel culture. If you haven’t listened to part 1, please do that first because it covers the history of the term political correctness, which is somewhat tied to Woke.

This episode on the Woke movement covers:

• The history leading to the Woke movement
• The spin-off movements, includ...

This episode is Part 1  of a 2-part series on political correctness (PC). This first episode covers:

• The history of the term 'political correctness'
• The modern definition of 'political correctness'
• Using the 'R-word' as an example, the episode traces how words can change meaning.
• How pc language is affecting modern western societies in terms of free speech, education, and miscommunication.
• And it conclu...