Theodore Talk: Narrative War: The Philosophy of Social Conflict
- January 25, 2026
Brian L. Steed, PhD, Associate Professor of Military History at the US Army Command and General Staff College, and author of Narrative War: The Philosophy of Social Conflict, will discuss the six big ideas associated with narrative war and the basic strategy and critical questions necessary for understanding, conducting, and ideally winning narrative war.
Narrative War was born out of Steed's personal experiences dealing with 9/11, serving within and with Arab armies, and planning for the Battle of Mosul to defeat ISIS. His book has been almost 25 years in the making, with 10 years dedicated to thinking, planning, teaching, speaking, and advocating for a new approach to war -- narrative war -- against groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.
The events of 2020 and 2024 in the form of elections, COVID-19, protests and marches, and violent actions against government events and buildings, led him to understand that narrative war is more than military war; it is a philosophy that explains all forms of social conflict. The big ideas, basic strategy, and critical questions necessary for understanding, conducting, and ideally winning narrative war are part of what is inside. Narrative War also provides a philosophical understanding of narrative war ideas and concepts using multiple examples of its conduct in the real world.
Register for this presentation here.
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Theodore Talks take place on Zoom the fourth Sunday of each month at 2:30 p.m. CT.
A list of future Theodore Talks can be found on the Mensa National Events Calendar at https://www.us.mensa.org/attend/calendar/.
Questions? Contact Brad Lucht at MensaTheodoreTalks@gmail.com.