Episode 3: Strategic Leadership Matters: Demosthenes and Brasidas in the Peloponnesian War

Guests Michael Pavković and Josh Hammond join host Vanya Eftimova Bellinger to profile the strategic leadership of two of the most compelling figures of the Peloponnesian War: Demosthenes and Brasidas. They compare Brasidas’s formative experiences in Sparta with Demosthenes’s in Athens, exploring how these backgrounds shaped each man’s approach to strategic leadership. The discussion highlights key qualities of effective strategic leaders, including the ability to balance boldness with prudence, exceptional creative and critical thinking skills, and the capacity to reassess, adapt, and decide faster than the adversary. A central theme is the adaptability required to transition from a successful tactical commander to an effective strategist. Careful listeners will also enjoy a surprisingly apt Guns N’ Roses analogy.

Guests

Professor Michael F. Pavković currently serves as Vice Admiral William Ledyard Rodgers Professor in Naval History in the Strategy and Policy Department at the college. He received his B.A. in history and classics from Pennsylvania State University and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He has presented papers at national and international conferences and has also published a number of articles, book chapters and reviews on topics relating to ancient, early modern and Napoleonic military history. He is co-author of "What is Military History?" (Polity Press, 3rd edition, 2017). He is currently writing a book on sea power in the ancient world.

Cmdr. Josh Hammond graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in classical languages and the U.S. Naval War College with an M.A. in national security and strategic studies. While at NWC, he received the Adm. Richard G. Colbert Memorial Prize for professional writing and research. A career naval flight officer, he has over 2,300 hours and 500 carrier landings in the F-14D and F/A-18F in support of numerous operations in the Arabian Gulf and Western Pacific. Other assignments include air operations officer on USS Carl Vinson and an exchange assignment with the Royal Navy in carrier doctrine development.