Lessons from Alexander, the Brits, the Russians. What qualities make tribal fighters such formidable opponents—and how can they be beaten?
View the credits and transcript for Episode 4.
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18 Comments
Very interesting, see this still a lot.. venturing into Iraq a lot… live in the Middle East since 2002′ as an Expat..keep up the good documentaries.
O311 2nd BTN/2nd Marines 94-98′ -Semper Fi
Okay, Video 4 answered some questions for me. However, I disagree on some of your analysis of Islam. I think the connection between Islam and tribalism is due to Islam’s lack of hierarchy, not because of it. Islam has not had hierarchy since the fall of the Rashidun Caliphate. Islam has no central authority, so it is as bendable as Gumby by individual Islamic tribes via the tribe’s Imam. Just look at the difference in female attire. The Koran says nothing about burqas,abayas, or headscarves. That is a local decision based on sect, country, or tribe. Imagine the effect on Islamic tribes if there was an Islamic pope making dictates on what the rules are.
Also, many of the similarities between Islam and tribalism also apply to Judaism.
Mr Pressfield,
Enjoyed your short video series just as I have enjoyed your writing. Good to see my brothers. Agree with your comments and look forward to keeping up with this blog.
Molon Labe
-Chief
I really appreciate your video essays. I found my empathy for the Iraqi Police through my experiences in my extended family in Alabama. Tribalism exists very heartily in various forms in the US.
I agree, Steven. You lost me on your analysis of Islam. You could say that (warrior religion, religion of the sword) about extreme Islam but not Islam in general.
Christianity and tribalism have exactly the same relationship as you pose for Islam and tribalism.
For goodness sake, what country in the world is always at war with other tribes? Afghanistan? Yes, on a tiny scale similar to the gangs you see in other impoverished areas, where people fight to retain resources adequate to sustain the tribe. But this is nothing in relation to the scope of tribal aggression we see among Judeo-Christians groups, particularly in America.
I am concerned that you don’t see the irony here.
These are great videos, Steve — thank you.
I think you may have drawn the wrong conclusions about tribe.
It’s pretty clear that tribalism does not define an East vs. West or an Islam vs. Judaeochristian dichotomy. Rather it’s a dichotomy of affluent vs. poor; safe vs. unsafe; and where we get our sense of dignity. When we’re poor or threatened or feeling dislocated, tribalism is our comfort and security. When we’re affluent and safe and confident in our own worth, we have a choice of adhering to tribe or going alone.
In the affluent West, tribalism can be found wherever poverty and fear is… Prisons, schools suffering bullying… The rise in the US of the Mano Nero — the forerunners of the US Mafia — occurred in part because of the dislocation of Italian immigrants. Likewise in Australia where I live, the rise of Vietnamese criminal gangs also arose from the social dislocation of children of refugees from the Vietnam War.
But there’s also evidence that even in civilised societies, tribalism remains an end in itself. We have sporting tribes, religious, political tribes. Many retain a warrior’s ethos of supremacism through conflict (though the the conflict may be symbolic or social rather than physical), and a warrior’s mythology of being the oppressed or aggrieved (even in Christian-dominant US, Christian tribalists consider themselves oppressed by atheists and infidels).
This is not simply a story of a clash of cultures; it’s a human story — a story of trying to find self among the faceless enormity of our own species, against the fears of our own inevitable death and insignificance. But it’s also a story of civilisation and evolutionary psychology — as our civilisation is enabled by affluence and growing safety, it’s also cemented by humans developing a sense of greater self beyond just self and tribe.
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