The Focus
@thefocuspodadl.bsky.social
The world is becoming more complex. Our thinking must become deeper. The Focus Podcast examines the systems behind conflict — power, economics, energy, technology and strategy. Conversations that go beyond the headlines. Hosted by John Bruni.
Great powers rarely fall because they're suddenly weak. They fall when leaders lose touch with reality. John Bruni's latest Substack examines why strategic decline often begins long before military defeat. jbruni.substack.com/p/when-great...
When Great Powers Lose Touch With Reality:
Leadership, Decline, and the Danger of Self-Deception
jbruni.substack.com
Winning the Peace: The Democratic Dilemma of Limited War The Focus' John Bruni, & Co-author Sami Omari have our latest published in The Cipher Brief; please check it out & let me know what you think! www.thecipherbrief.com/winning-the-...
Winning the Peace: The Democratic Dilemma of Limited War
In our previous article, we argued that overwhelming military superiority no longer guarantees strategic success.Today, military and political outcomes have become increasingly disconnected.As Carl vo...
thecipherbrief.com
Winning the Peace: The Democratic Dilemma of Limited War The Focus' John Bruni, & Co-author Sami Omari have our latest published in The Cipher Brief; please check it out & let me know what you think! www.thecipherbrief.com/winning-the-...
Winning the Peace: The Democratic Dilemma of Limited War
In our previous article, we argued that overwhelming military superiority no longer guarantees strategic success.Today, military and political outcomes have become increasingly disconnected.As Carl vo...
thecipherbrief.com
Great powers rarely fall because they're suddenly weak. They fall when leaders lose touch with reality. John Bruni's latest Substack examines why strategic decline often begins long before military defeat. jbruni.substack.com/p/when-great...
When Great Powers Lose Touch With Reality:
Leadership, Decline, and the Danger of Self-Deception
jbruni.substack.com
#Colombia defeated one of the world's longest-running insurgencies. How? Former Commander General Alberto José Mejía Ferrero joins The Focus to discuss the FARC, ELN, Venezuela, drone warfare and the strategic lessons for today's democracies. Watch now. youtu.be/dNEPMD37H3g?...
#Colombia defeated one of the world's longest-running insurgencies. How? Former Commander General Alberto José Mejía Ferrero joins The Focus to discuss the FARC, ELN, Venezuela, drone warfare and the strategic lessons for today's democracies. Watch now. youtu.be/dNEPMD37H3g?...
How did #Colombia defeat the #FARC? Former Commander General Alberto José Mejía Ferrero returns to The Focus to discuss counterinsurgency, the #ELN, #Venezuela and the future of warfare. Premieres tomorrow.
How did #Colombia defeat the #FARC? Former Commander General Alberto José Mejía Ferrero returns to The Focus to discuss counterinsurgency, the #ELN, #Venezuela and the future of warfare. Premieres tomorrow.
Delighted The Cipher Brief has published our latest article. Military superiority still matters—but increasingly it is political legitimacy and strategic endurance that determine victory. Our latest analysis: www.thecipherbrief.com/winning-batt... @anderspucknielsen.dk @scottlucas.bsky.social
Winning Battles, Losing Strategy: Why Military Superiority No Longer Guarantees Victory
America’s battlefield dominance remains unmatched, but Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran shows that tactical success increasingly fails when military power is not matched by a coherent political strategy...
thecipherbrief.com
Delighted The Cipher Brief has published our latest article. Military superiority still matters—but increasingly it is political legitimacy and strategic endurance that determine victory. Our latest analysis: www.thecipherbrief.com/winning-batt... @anderspucknielsen.dk @scottlucas.bsky.social
Winning Battles, Losing Strategy: Why Military Superiority No Longer Guarantees Victory
America’s battlefield dominance remains unmatched, but Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran shows that tactical success increasingly fails when military power is not matched by a coherent political strategy...
thecipherbrief.com
Winning battles doesn't always mean winning wars. Colombia's campaign against the FARC shows why strategy, institutions & leadership matter. General (Ret.) Alberto José Mejía Ferrero explains why in Part One of The Focus. ▶️ youtu.be/eB6DPC_sOak?... #Colombia #NationalSecurity #Geopolitics
Tomorrow: Part One of my conversation with Gen. (Ret.) Alberto José Mejía Ferrero. We discuss #Colombia's campaign against the #FARC, Plan Colombia and the lessons democracies can draw from one of the world's longest insurgencies. Part Two follows next week.
Everyone is focused on Iran's military losses. But Tehran still holds one powerful strategic card: southern Iraq. My latest Substack examines why Iraq—not Iran—could become the next arena of escalation. jbruni.substack.com/p/irans-hidd...
Iran’s Hidden Battlefield: Could Tehran Turn Southern Iraq Into the Next Front?
The conventional wisdom about a potential U.S.–Iran confrontation is that the United States possesses overwhelming military superiority, while Iran’s options are limited.
jbruni.substack.com
Everyone is focused on Iran's military losses. But Tehran still holds one powerful strategic card: southern Iraq. My latest Substack examines why Iraq—not Iran—could become the next arena of escalation. jbruni.substack.com/p/irans-hidd...
Iran’s Hidden Battlefield: Could Tehran Turn Southern Iraq Into the Next Front?
The conventional wisdom about a potential U.S.–Iran confrontation is that the United States possesses overwhelming military superiority, while Iran’s options are limited.
jbruni.substack.com
Three crises. The Gulf. Washington. Ukraine. Individually, they matter. Together, they raise a larger question: Can the United States still manage multiple strategic crises simultaneously? New Substack. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/jbruni/p...
Three Crises, One President: Is Trump's Strategic Bandwidth Running Out?
For a fleeting moment, it seemed the Middle East had stepped back from the brink of conflict—a rare pause in a region long accustomed to turbulence.
open.substack.com
Three crises. The Gulf. Washington. Ukraine. Individually, they matter. Together, they raise a larger question: Can the United States still manage multiple strategic crises simultaneously? New Substack. 👇 open.substack.com/pub/jbruni/p...
Three Crises, One President: Is Trump's Strategic Bandwidth Running Out?
For a fleeting moment, it seemed the Middle East had stepped back from the brink of conflict—a rare pause in a region long accustomed to turbulence.
open.substack.com
NEW | The Bruni Brief #001 Why are the #US and #Iran finding it so difficult to de-escalate? A 4-minute strategic briefing on Professor Robert Pape's “Escalation Trap” and why it matters for Australia. youtu.be/CB7Ic0aou54?...
US Strikes Iran 140 Times After Hormuz Attack | The Bruni Brief #001
YouTube video by The Focus with Dr. John Bruni
youtu.be
NEW | The Bruni Brief #001 Why are the #US and #Iran finding it so difficult to de-escalate? A 4-minute strategic briefing on Professor Robert Pape's “Escalation Trap” and why it matters for Australia. youtu.be/CB7Ic0aou54?...
US Strikes Iran 140 Times After Hormuz Attack | The Bruni Brief #001
YouTube video by The Focus with Dr. John Bruni
youtu.be
Does Modern Monetary Theory work? Could Universal Basic Income ever succeed? These—and other big questions about the future of the global economy—are the focus of my latest conversation with economist Dr Jenny Gordon. 🎧 Watch now: youtu.be/ZyIOnW8nngQ?...
Who writes the economic rules? Part 2 of my conversation with economist Dr Jenny Gordon. We discuss AI, inflation, immigration, Modern Monetary Theory, and Trumpenomics, 🎙️ Premiering later today on The Focus Podcast. #Economics #Geopolitics #GlobalEconomy #PublicPolicy #TheFocusPodcast
Has #Palestine disappeared from the headlines—or simply from our attention? #RamzyBaroud It's a thoughtful conversation that explores difficult questions from multiple perspectives. 🎥 Watch now: youtu.be/IeuIJyB-r-o?...
Has #Palestine disappeared from the headlines—or simply from our attention? #RamzyBaroud It's a thoughtful conversation that explores difficult questions from multiple perspectives. 🎥 Watch now: youtu.be/IeuIJyB-r-o?...
Tomorrow on The Focus Podcast, Dr John Bruni speaks with Palestinian journalist and author Ramzy Baroud. A strategic discussion that looks beyond the headlines. 🎙️ Available tomorrow. #Palestine #MiddleEast #Geopolitics #ForeignPolicy #InternationalRelations
#Ukraine's war has entered its fifth year. SAGE International's latest Strategic Intelligence Brief examines drone warfare, #Russia's war economy and the conflict's evolving strategic balance. 🔗 sageinternational.com.au/articles/str...
Ukraine War: Attrition, Drones and the Rising Cost of Putin’s Strategy - SAGE International Australia
SAGE Strategic Intelligence Brief #003 Ukraine War: Attrition, Drones and the Rising Cost of Putin’s Strategy 29 June 2026 SAGE International Australia Author: Dr John Bruni Suggested Citation Bruni, ...
sageinternational.com.au
#Ukraine's war has entered its fifth year. SAGE International's latest Strategic Intelligence Brief examines drone warfare, #Russia's war economy and the conflict's evolving strategic balance. 🔗 sageinternational.com.au/articles/str...
Ukraine War: Attrition, Drones and the Rising Cost of Putin’s Strategy - SAGE International Australia
SAGE Strategic Intelligence Brief #003 Ukraine War: Attrition, Drones and the Rising Cost of Putin’s Strategy 29 June 2026 SAGE International Australia Author: Dr John Bruni Suggested Citation Bruni, ...
sageinternational.com.au
We were taught that efficiency was the answer. Lower inventories. Leaner organisations. Just-in-time supply chains. Smaller militaries. Then the world became dangerous again.👇 open.substack.com/pub/jbruni/p...
When Efficiency Stops Being Enough
For much of its modern history, Australia has prided itself on being the “lucky country”: a sunburnt continent blessed with abundant resources, stable institutions, and an unspoken compact of egalitar...
open.substack.com
The most dangerous assumption in geopolitics is mistaking a pause for peace. The Iran agreement may have stopped the shooting. Whether it has resolved the conflict is another matter entirely. New analysis: open.substack.com/pub/jbruni/p...
Peace on Paper, War in Waiting
The newly announced U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding has been hailed by some as the most major diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East since the initial Iran nuclear agreement.
open.substack.com
Japan is often described as a quiet power. Tomorrow we speak with Emeritus Professor Purnendra Jain about Japan's strategic future—and why Australia should be paying attention. #Japan #IndoPacific #Geopolitics
Japan is often described as a quiet power. Tomorrow we speak with Emeritus Professor Purnendra Jain about Japan's strategic future—and why Australia should be paying attention. #Japan #IndoPacific #Geopolitics
The most dangerous assumption in geopolitics is mistaking a pause for peace. The Iran agreement may have stopped the shooting. Whether it has resolved the conflict is another matter entirely. New analysis: open.substack.com/pub/jbruni/p...
Peace on Paper, War in Waiting
The newly announced U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding has been hailed by some as the most major diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East since the initial Iran nuclear agreement.
open.substack.com