Facing Coming Storms #15: Performative strikes and new forever wars
Episode description: Are we heading toward endless wars or can we pull back? In this episode of Facing Coming Storms, Nikolas Gvosdev joins us to dissect 2025’s conflicts — from Ukraine and Gaza to Houthi attacks and India-Pakistan tensions. We explore “performative strikes” risking escalation and depleted arsenals, like US Tomahawks and Europe’s scarce shells.
Gvosdev reveals how drones sinking ships expose Western military gaps, unprepared for long wars. We probe nuclear powers clashing indirectly and societies’ readiness for mass casualties. From White House de-escalation to tariff-hit economies, this episode unpacks a world teetering between posturing and disaster — a must for grasping today’s unstable global order.
About the podcast: Facing Coming Storms is the new international defence podcast from the British Army’s Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research and the Project for the Study of the 21st Century. From confrontation to conflict, join us each Monday for insightful discussions, conversations and expert analysis. Facing Coming Storms is produced by Urban Podcasts.
