SakeTami
PerunAU
PerunAU

patreon


Snap topic poll

G'day all.

As hinted in the last channel update, I have a few topics in the works and there are a few where I want to determine the extent, if any, of Patron interest for. Depending on the results I may also poll the wider YT audience.

The three topics of note are:

The next episode in the Nation studies series looking at the DPRK (given their increased relevance to Ukraine)

The how voting systems shape (or destroy) countries episode - I'm nervous about this one as it's not military centric, but it belongs in the corruption, lies & procurement series. Basically a look at how systems and incentive structures can shape outcomes and behaviours for better or (much, much) worse.

The losses and force status in Ukraine episode, where I try to assess how the two forces have changed, what the equipment being fielded and lost tells us, and trying to address questions of sustainability. Think of this as having a connection to the ancient episode "sending their best"

Multiple choice is enabled, and feedback is always welcome.

Comments

As a citizen of the REPUBLIC of the USA, whose ancestors managed to escape the so-called "parliamentary democracy" and "constitutional monarchy" of England, which is now dealing with hordes of refugees from so-called "socialist democracies" like Venezuela, China, etc., I would be fascinated by an Aussie's take on voting systems and their outcomes. You are brave to suggest it, so I throw down the gauntlet.

Douglas K Southard

Your mention of the "How voting systems and incentive structures destroy countries" idea during the Q&A video a few months ago IMMEDIATELY caught my attention (especially given how resistant you seemed toward the idea of actually making the video). This is a topic which has received FAR less attention (both on YouTube and in the academic literature) than it deserves. A related subject that I personally have given a lot of thought (and a minimal amount of research) into, is how the mechanics of social media platforms impact the culture and behavior of the users of those platforms (for example, 4chan and Facebook are both considered toxic but for VASTLY different reasons, which are also different from the reasons why Twitter is toxic, etc). I would ESPECIALLY be interested to see an in-depth study of how the changes Elon has made to Twitter has impacted the behavior of its users, and its effects on society. Not necessarily a suggestion for a video, but more of a nudge toward this being a topic worth doing some research on. Regardless, massive MASSIVE support in favor of making the voting systems video in the near future!!

KevinBeee

Voted for the voting system to give you confidence that we would still like it, only to find that most other people have already voted for it. Truly, all these topics sound good to me mate, produce what you can, when you can, and I'll watch it. I only wish you could do more on Australian topics but understand there must be reasons you can't (though I do love the Emutopia/Kewi Land analysis).

Andrew Maltby

Definitely the voting system, I'm in Ireland and we have PR single transferrable vote where if you want to vote for every candidate in descending order you can, it makes the count very complicated and long but I lookmatbthe likes of the UK and think FPTP is not particularly democratic.

Trish Doyle

+1 for voting systems. Unrelated to that, I wonder if some episode on Afghanistan would be in your wheelhouse and interest. I am mostly thinking of a core focus on some sorta "Post Mortem" (macabre term I know) of the Western-involvement and the government they backed, and looking at factors that led to the collapse of the latter and return of the Taliban to power (military, moral, social, organizational, financial...). Plus lessons learned ofc. I know that topic has been regularly done to death for decades but I am interested in a take in you level headed style and usual focus.

Hen

Just to be the jerk that I am: I vote for an exhaustive multi-hour episode on the US military's Legged Squad Support System (=robotic donkey project) that cost $42 million and then was cancelled.

Jeremy _

+1 "Those all sound great", I voted which I'd want to hear first.

Stephen T. Robbins

Wishing you continued good health

Teabag

All great topics but the voting & North Korea have the edge.

Teabag

Pity Patreon dosn't let us rank our votes, so I will do it here. Voting systems 1, Losses and force status Ukraine 2, North Korea 3,

Harold Robinson

As a poli sci guy I can't wait for your take on voting systems.

Antonio Vitalone

I would love to see any of them, but I'll throw my hat in the ring for the North Korea one. It seems especially relevant given recent events.

Nick Johnson

So long as the Voting Systems video is deep enough to cover things like the Condorcet Paradox and Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem and isn’t just a “FPTP Bad” video I think it’ll be a good one.

Leo Stanek

I'd be interested in an episode on the long term costs of war. Things like material destruction, demographic shifts, debt etc. and how it's likely to affect Russia and Ukraine.

Linus Andersson

Voted for some DPRK. Though voting systems would be interesting. Even if the latter is selected I would like to see some info on the DPRK in the near future given that Yoon Suk Yeol has been in the seat (ROK president) for a couple years. Thanks for the content Bud! Hope you’re 100% now.

Jarrett

When you do get back to the Ukraine topic, would love to see a segment on their DIB, without violating OPSEC, of course.

Cap'n Dan Doherty

I'd like to hear all 3. I ticked the one I'd like first. I hope you're getting better. It sounds like you had a really rough time.

Richard Gemmell

I'm very happy that your health has returned! I really enjoy the weekly brain-injection of defense econimics

brian webster

All three of these are top teir subjects! I would say do one of the two non-Ukraine focused episodes first to balance it out.

Daniel Schwartz

Having just had a general election in the UK and watching the shenanigans in France I think voting systems would be an excellent subject.

Phil Wellings

Really, any Perun video is suberbly done. We're just voting between excellence on one topic versus excellence on another. And to pile on the compliments, this voting is exactly what Patreon is great for. Feeling a part of the process in a small way. All we need now is a merch line with T-shirts of all the quips.

Paul LaFontaine

Perun - all of those topics are good ones, but I voted for voting systems: even though you might perceive that it’s outside of your normal scope, I would be absolutely overjoyed to see your defense economics and analysis mindset directed at a topic so fundamental to democracies. Other YouTubers like CGP Grey have done similar videos on voting systems, but you offer a unique and immensely valuable perspective that I’d love to see on the topic.

SemperPsychedelic

Here's a summary of what outsiders think about US elections: "First past the post"-voting is dumb.

RTT12

As an American looking down the barrel at our Presidential election this year, I'd like to hear what an Aussie ("an outsider"?) has to say about the broader topic of voting and what joys I can expect to see over the horizon.

AlliterativeArts (Eric Faust)

All three sound fascinating. Do what most interests you. Your enthusiasm on a topic always comes through.

Jim Teague

Primer and CGP Grey did voting videos https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yhO6jfHPFQU https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s7tWHJfhiyo you might find useful info or references there. Note that CGP did a series but i only linked the one

mortilus

Sorry but I would really love to hear your take on all 3 of them!

Pentium

I reserve my right to harrumph loudly if my countries voting system are not highlighted as the best one in the voting systems video!

Winged Gunsknecht

I think doing the election episode later could easily get you more views at the risk of more USA people screaming in the comments about their favoured presidential candidate.

Oxy_Cyan

All three! You make it, I'll watch it. Don't be shy of the voting one, it's an essential part of the equation - especially with Trump, Orbán, Modi, Erdoğan, etc around. The extreme right have so successfully pushed the idea that we musn't talk about politics in case we upset people, that it has almost become a given. As they also did with the 'all politicians are corrupt/in it for themselves/the same' meme - which is now regarded as a universal 'truth'. They do this to disrupt democrative politics and create chaos (see Trump and the MAGA weirdos), which suits their interests, and we must resist it.

Paul Haynes

I find subject of voting systems very interesting, likewise their long-term effects on "democracy". I wonder if you have considered doing a presentation on the Balkans with particular focus on Croatia. In any case I am loving your channel.

Justin Spoliar

The voting episode is likely to be topical given the CF coming up here in the US. 😅 North Korea had my top vote but all are sure to be informative

Katerina A Reisdorf

I voted for voting, but I love all of these topics TBH. I really enjoyed your corruption series and want to see more, though, so that's my preference.

Arraxis

I think I've had enough of elections for a while. Maybe in August when things are a bit quieter...

Shaun Parry

To put paragraphs and spacing in - you have to use shift+enter. If you're ever struggling with formatting text in a submission field, playing around with enter vs. shift+enter vs ctrl+enter are the 3 most common inputs for a line break in my experience. I 100% understand how frustrating it can be! :)

Nalikill

The UK fptp system forces parties to set up in a 'broad church' approach where there is a wide range of political views all branded together (so we effectively have coalitions that are agreed behind closed doors). These conglomerate parties do disproportionately well compared to others. In the recent election, the right wing conservative 'broad church' was broken with a new 'Reform' party that failed to get a meaningful number of seats, but split the right wing. The centre left Labour party disproportionately dominated as a result.

Guy Dudley

(By the way, I apologize in advance since I could not put paragraphs and line spacing into this!! Ack! What am I missing?!). This is a great topic but pretty tricky, not the least because of when it would be covered. Needless to say any voting process which is constitutionally approved/written in concrete simply doesn't change on a dime (putting it mildly). I also want to gently suggest that there is a continued conflation between democracy nad governance. They clearly are overlapped; obviousy a government which represents the people is likley to be followed more. BUT it's not so simple. The American "Founding Fathers" were focused in on one key issue - how does one run a govenrment which works and which at the same time addresses human nature, avoids extremes and promotes compromise. A number of my fellow citizens tend to cloak their politics around the Constitution without fully understanding what it was trying to accomplish, Ensuring that votes are heard is important but if it then leads to govnerment that either doesn't work or edges towards authoritarianism it would be diametrically opposed to why the Constitution was designed. The other problem about this topic is the subtleties of HOW power is shared in order to get things done is svery very difficult to understand between systems. Leading to a rather confused debate between those who live in a US-like constititutional system and those in a parliamentary system. I suspect Perun might be able to help clarify issues, but I don't think it's in his sweet spot in terms of expertise. I DO though like a topic if you focus less on what is better and more on impact on decisions, especially when paralysis occurs. And as you say this can be a fourth horseman of corruption. Still, if I were you I probably would walk away from the thin ice.

Tony Pryor

NZ'er here, MMP has wrecked the country. I am fascinated in how voting can shape or destroy countries. If anyone can make sense of this subject, it is you, Perun.

Blayne Newton

Crikey I want to see your take on this topic. @Nalikill: well summed up and the Perun lens across the topics listed would be, well, character forming to say the least

Beth

For the voting system episode, I'm interested to see it, and I know you always take a balanced perspective on things, but I'm cautious, as most takes on voting systems I've seen in the past amount to "plurality-based systems are stupid, use some kind of ranked choice voting or you're an idiot." Plurality based systems do have disadvantages, but there are advantages as well. One thing I think is key to that episode "feeling" fair to people who like different voting systems is to talk about the different goals a voting system can have, for example: 1. Representing the results of the vote accurately in the legislature 2. Ensuring a functional government is assembled afterwards 3. Being responsive to shifts in the vote. 4. Maintaining some stability among representatives so experienced leaders can guide the new representatives. 5. Ensuring representatives are responsive to those who elected them. 6. Managing administration costs. Because, for example, you can look through this lens at constituency-based systems vs at-large systems: any at-large system is going to be a lot better at #1 and a lot worse at #5 than a constituency-based system (as a very broad over-generalized rule of thumb). In an at-large system you're going to be responsive to and loyal to your party a lot more than the residents of the region that elected you, since you have no hope of being elected without your party. In a constituency-based system, the incumbency advantage is big but not insuperable, so you have a very strong incentive to listen to people from your geographical area so you can continue to get elected.

Nalikill

The voting question is pertinent, but also 'thin ice' for the channel given the pending US election. It is needed but almost certain to cost you some viewers. I voted DPRK, the wild card in all this.

Bill Kerr

I mean, honestly not much would change. In USA parties have almost no control over members. The "parties" in the US are much looser. In UK or any other parliamentary democracy, Democrat and Republican parties would be 3-4 separate parties; if you could re-form parties from scratch in USA, ironically the first party to form probably would be something like FDP or Ensemble from Germany or France and it would be the strongest party by far, probably running with a typical near-majority, with hard-core democrats and republicans running a relatively distant second and third. The main change would be much more complicated ballots and people would have different letters behind their names. See also Nebraska, which technically has a non-partisan legislature.

Nalikill

Hope you are feeling better by now. A topic I would be interested in is the capabilities of Europe / EU right now and in the future to support Ukraine or a European war against russia when the USA would quit support for Ukraine and/or leave NATO.

Theo Keizers

One thing about the EU Parliament elections is that they are held off cycle from national elections, so turnout is lower. It's like here in the US, where only the more motivated zealots vote, which is one reason we are so polarized. That and redistricting where politicians choose their voters:-)

Arun Lal

They're all worthy subjects and I hope to see any of these soon however I think the North Korea episode is of immediate interest

Bob Ogden

What would happen if the US somehow overnight got THREE parties such that no single party got more than 50% of seats?

InfinitePlayer

Welcome back! I'd kind of like to see something on the recent ISIS attacks against Russia. What the dickens is going on with that? Also, possibly still something on combat engineering/fortifications. Also maybe options for defending against glide bombs.

Kurt Paasch

It's the dependence on the imports which would drive policy, much like Germany's dependence on Russian natural gas has created effects on its Ukraine policies... As GEN Westmoreland said, back in the Vietnam era: "Grab them by the balls, and their hearts and minds will surely follow."

Hudson Luce

North Korea and Russia's electoral politics are both kind of shitty....

Timothy Hopper

Pretty sure the uranium imports are a holdover from SALT.

Trees

So glad that you are almost back to normal. Gosh we missed you! Maybe, from your health perspective, you could schedule in a break every few weeks or so. Without your input, whom could we turn to that we trust? So keep healthy, please.

ROGER STEMP

What would happen if the US introduced proportional voting all of a sudden 😸

Niclas Hansemark

French, UK, Iran, Indian and another in November.. big year for elections.. and left off lots

Aussie Badger

Definitely voting - and the integrity and honesty of voting systems - are important topics, but also important is the existence of "double government" systems - in places such as the US which have a "national security state" - see https://sites.tufts.edu/fletcheradmissions/files/2014/01/National-Security-and-Double-Government-by-Glennon.pdf - where elections don't seem to have much effect on important policy stances. As for the US' apparently inconsistent stand on Ukraine, constraining its ability to fight back and actually win (instead of "staying in the fight"), one significant constraint might be that the US imports about one third of the amount of uranium used for nuclear power generation from Russia - about $1 billion worth. If this supply were to be curtailed, it would have the same effect - perhaps greater than - as if the currently-running Gazprom natural gas pipelines, running across Ukraine from Sumy to the Polish border, were to be damaged or destroyed. This pipeline provides Russia with billions of USD in revenues...

Hudson Luce

The voting system got my tick, I also think it kinds of follows on from episode one in an odd kind of way. You get the army you deserve, rather than what you actually need kind of thing. Very glad to hear you are feeling better but please don't push yourself. You are too valuable a source in the information space to be put at risk !

John Vissenga

Bit of a wild card, and unrelated to any of the posted topics, but have you ever considered an analysis of Transnistria? The economic and demographic challenges facing the separatist government there (Moldovan taxation, an imminent cutoff of Russian gas supply via Ukrainian pipelines, declining population, etc) could work very well with your data-heavy presentation style. There's also a notable lack of accessible English language presentations on the region, so it's definitely a void that could use filling.

Exovian

I’m actually very interested by the voting system topic. For instance in france, the far right just got the largest share of the popular vote but ended up 3rd in seat count. Don’t get me wrong, this is good news, but with the global loss of trust in institutions, it would be great to know to what extent this kind of apparent disparity is or isn’t anti-democratic. When looking at most 3 way runoffs it was actually quite predictable, and I think this system is great to favor the least worst outcome, which can often preserve democracy, making the system more democratic in that sense? I think that video will be very interesting and beneficial, i think it’s literally on everyone’s mind this year.

Alexis Jouanneaux

WOW you should be nervous.. VERY NERVOUS! 😁

Aussie Badger

We need a vote option that covers the conflict between Perun's immune system and the bioweapon used against it.

alexander gaitan

I've voted for the voting system option because I'm extremely curious as to how you'll approach this topic. My analysis is that the problems we see result from far deeper structural causes than voting systems and so I would love to learn your thoughts on at least a small portion of this most important subject of all.

ALLAN LEES

Hope you're fully recovered and have some other non-forced holidays planned! The voting topic seems a bit left field for this channel, which is why I've voted for it. Be interesting to see an 'outside' view.

Brave Sir Roger

Ironically it's a very even race between the voting and Ukraine topics. I reckon Perun might have to cast the tie-breaking vote.

David Burström

The voting system one sounds fascinating and I'd love to listen to it; but in light of your recent illness I worry that such a deviation would garner less interest and result in algorithm problems

Owen Lee

Even if the voting topic might be political, I guess you wouldn't discuss individual policies. I believe your usual audience is able to handle that :)

Kkessu

I'd like to see the voting. It's tough to do. Comparative politics is the most difficult thing I ever studied in political science. Yes there are similar structures in governments but what impacted the elections in the UK and France are different than what is playing out here in the USA. Later might be better, but then again it is interesting to look at those and see if it sheds light on the US situation. Is that really your expertise? I think Ukraine probably needs some time to develop a bit more. North Korea is safer and more static. You hinted at a Republic of Korea review as well. Interestingly, you began to touch on a concept in your most recent episode of the interconnected nature of the Ukrainian conflict to broader national rivalries and conflict. An exploration of how that effects the Korean peninsula, China/Taiwan and the broader South China Sea. Chinese and other involvement in Africa, SE Asia and South America. Is this a Clash of Civilizations a la Huntington? Or something merely national rivalries? Is it just opportunistic or more deliberate? I would think following the money and resources would help answer that. (I am aware of the critiques of Huntington) You really did start to talk about war, ceasefires and possible treaties as part of the same diplomatic continuum. That's an interesting idea to explore in how the Russo-Ukranian war is a reflection of International politics on a broader scale.

John Bryant

I voted for all 3, and I think it's awesome you have an interest in reporting on these topics. - Assessment of North Korean capabilities is of great interest. I'm curious of how much surplus they have to dedicate to Russia, considering their recent posture towards South Korea. - Gaining insight into voting systems and their anti-corruption measures is also interesting. I think it's key to understand them better in order for Democracies to have faith in their systems and filter out the propaganda. - An update to Ukrainian and Russian force status would be nice. It seems the Russians have been pulling substantial numbers of troops from abroad, and getting a better perspective of their impact is of interest.

CrazyLace

I don’t want to see any of these ideas canned, so I had to vote for them all. North Korea would probably be the topic I’m anticipating the least, but it is relevant, an interesting topic, and a good addition to the series. Voting systems seems like a good topic to recover from a very data heavy episode as you suggest the losses episode will be. But that’s just my opinion, this isn’t my show and I’m no expert. I am glad you’re feeling better! Thanks for all you do, all the great content, the entertainment/humor.

Mike schantz

With the losses in Ukraine, there was a Warographics video a month or so back that indicated that the personnel loss ratios were in the vicinity of 2:1 or lower, while the equipment loss ratios seem to be much higher (as in Russia losing a lot more, especially tanks). Particularly given that Western equipment is supposed to be more survivable for the crews, I'm curious about this discrepancy in ratios and what might explain it. As in, why are the Ukrainians losing proportionally more troops than equipment when compared to Russian losses?

Devin Hughes

I love anything DPRK related and Perun's dry wit will make it probably an amazing episode for sure. Voting systems might get too political especially when three permanent UN Security Council members either just had or will have an election this year. (Russian presidential "election" doesn't count.)

3and20

This. It's an election year so there's so much in flux at the moment and there will be so much to talk about in a few months when the elections are over. We JUST got the results in the UK & France. No way too soon to do effective topical commentary. Also, it's not like any voting system changes are on the ballot, so there's no rush to do it before the US elections, for the people thinking along those lines.

Kyle E Johnson

Agreed, I want to see all of these.

Darren

So I'll admit it I picked all 3 North Korea #1 and then toss up for the other 2 but as others have said the election theme is kind relevant given UK, France, USA

Kerry L Werry

My feeling for voting systems is that it should be an early 2025 topic so that it can double as a quick retrospective on the truly nutty number of elections (important ones!) that we had in 2024.

John Doe

Voting improvements have been an interest of mine for decades. Would love a deep dive on that.

Steve M

Come on, we need some truly shitty options. These 3 are all interesting!

Daniel K

Voting! FPTP/2 party versus proportional representation given the full Perun treatment. How systems can force polarisation (US), or hide growing patterns until it's too late (Brexit), or result in patchworks of tiny parties and independents (PR). 🙏🏼

Hugo Nolan

Been very keen for the voting systems since it was teased in the Ask Perun episode, although another data episode on Ukraine is exciting

Tetaredon

Please don't overwork yourself coming out of this illness. Thanks for the continued quality videos.

Joe Fedasz

Voting sounds very interesting but I worry it may end up political (or interpreted as such).

Marcin Kwiatkowski

Desperately want to pick North Korea because it’s a fascinating topic, but as an American staring a terrifying election in the face I think that a greater service would be done by having someone break down voting systems in a way that is clear, balanced and digestible.

Will

Honestly all 3 are good topics, just too bad we can assign an order and vote for all 3

norahc

Really interested in the voting topic!

Ross Turner

Ukraine with voting a close second

Michael Fairburn

Voting systems episode please. Edited to add: Just please do not misuse Arrow's Impossibility Theorem. It probably doesn't apply; ask a relevant expert before mentioning it please.

Timothy Hopper


More Creators