Category Archives: Military History

White Paper: Afghanistan–Pakistan: Conflict Dynamics, Capabilities, and Pathways to (De-)Escalation

Posted on October 20, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Border violence between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan has spiked to the worst levels since 2021, culminating this week in a Qatar- and Turkey-mediated ceasefire after days of airstrikes, artillery exchanges, and border closures. The truce commits both sides … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Typology of Looting and Profiteering in Wartime and Its Role in Social Mobility and National Economic Policy

Posted on October 16, 2025 by nathanalbright

I. Introduction Looting and wartime profiteering are persistent and paradoxical features of human conflict. While they represent moral and legal violations in most contexts, they also serve as engines of redistribution, innovation, and occasionally modernization. From ancient empires to contemporary … Continue reading →

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White Paper: Biblical “Giants” and Contemporary Genetics: Text, Physiology, Population Variation, and Myth

Posted on October 15, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Biblical texts refer to unusually large people and peoples—Nephilim, Rephaim, Anakim, and individual figures like Goliath and Og. Careful textual analysis suggests the Bible depicts exceptional but human-scale tallness, not fantasy-scale beings. Modern science explains unusual height through … Continue reading →

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White Paper: What Was Lost: Scotland in the Wars of the Auld Alliance and in the Brain Drain of Empire

Posted on October 2, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Scotland’s history is marked by two great forms of loss: first, the devastation of recurrent wars fought against England in the medieval and early modern periods, often within the framework of the Auld Alliance with France (1295–1560); second, … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Anglo-Scottish Borderlands between Edinburgh and Berwick: A Cockpit of War

Posted on October 1, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary The corridor stretching from Edinburgh in the north to Berwick-upon-Tweed in the south served for centuries as one of the most militarized and contested landscapes in the British Isles. Its geography, fortifications, and socio-political importance made it a … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Political and Military History of the Kingdom of Strathclyde

Posted on September 29, 2025 by nathanalbright

Introduction The Kingdom of Strathclyde, sometimes called Alt Clut (“Rock of the Clyde”) after its fortress base at Dumbarton Rock, was one of the most enduring Brittonic successor states to Roman Britain. Existing from at least the 5th century until … Continue reading →

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The Kingdom of the Picts: A White Paper on Political and Military History

Posted on September 27, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary From late Roman times to the mid-9th century, the peoples later called “Picts” forged powerful polities north of the Forth, culminating in the over-kingdom of Fortriu and a period of regional hegemony. Their ascendancy was punctuated by decisive … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Political and Military History of Dál Riata

Posted on September 26, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive summary Dál Riata (also Dalriada or Dál Riata) was a Gaelic overkingdom spanning northeast Antrim (Ireland) and the western seaboard of Scotland (Argyll, Kintyre, Islay, Jura, Mull, and adjacent isles). Between the sixth and eighth centuries it pioneered a … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Yemen Conflict: Deep Divides, Complex Dynamics, and Paths Toward Peace

Posted on September 23, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Yemen’s civil war is a multifaceted conflict rooted in historical, political, economic, and regional divides. The conflict involves multiple internal actors (Houthis, the internationally recognized government, Southern separatists, tribal/local authorities, extremist groups) and external powers (Saudi Arabia, UAE, … Continue reading →

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White Paper: The Dilemma of Persistent Conflict: Politicization of the Military vs. Militarization of the Police

Posted on September 20, 2025 by nathanalbright

Executive Summary Persistent internal conflict forces states to seek coercive stability. Two common strategies emerge: politicizing the military to govern internal disputes or militarizing the police to suppress unrest. Both approaches alter the balance between state authority, civil society, and … Continue reading →

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