For nearly three months in the summer of 1999, India and Pakistan fought what became known as the Kargil conflict. With Pakistan recently joining India as a nuclear power, the conflict played out...
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Irregular Warfare Initiative
Irregular Warfare Podcast: China’s Military Strategy Since 1949
In 1949, China hit a historical inflection point with the Chinese Communist Party’s victory over nationalist Kuomintang forces and the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. It also marked...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Trans-Atlantic Relationship After Two Years of War
Nearly two years have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. In the lead-up to the war, European states largely agreed on the importance of supporting Russia, but disagreed about the optimal form—and...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Lawfare, Humanitarian Crises, and Urban Combat in Gaza
For nearly two months, three powerful dynamics have converged in Gaza: lawfare, a humanitarian crisis, and urban combat. This episode of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines those subjects and...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Dealers and Brokers in Proxy Wars
When two adversaries confront one another militarily, they are rarely the only participants. Either side might delegate portions of its war efforts to proxies, for example—a subject that has been...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Cod Wars, Sea Shepherd, and Irregular Warfare at Sea
In 1952, Iceland expanded its territorial waters based on a ruling by the International Court of Justice. It triggered a series of confrontations with the United Kingdom that would continue for...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Strategic Weaponization of Narratives
As the global information environment rapidly changes, revisionist states are increasingly enabled to wage information warfare. They leverage networked information systems to sow political chaos in...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Hostage Diplomacy 101
On November 4, 1979, fifty-two Americans were seized in Tehran. The 444 days they spent in captivity is one of the most notable cases in recent history of a state actor using hostages to advance its...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: China’s Political Warfare
What are the fundamental tenets of China's approach to political warfare? What does it look like when Beijing employs political warfare in the real world? And how is it different, in both theory and...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Who’s Watching the Watchmen?
Irregular warfare, by its nature, includes activities that distinguish it from those traditionally conducted by conventional forces. But if congressional oversight is designed with the latter in...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: A Twenty-Year Retrospective on Irregular Warfare and Counterinsurgency
In what ways do irregular warfare and counterinsurgency overlap? Is China engaged in irregular warfare against its adversaries? What are some of the failures of the wars and conflicts of the last...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Rise of Digital Repression
What happens when authoritarianism expands into online environments? A form of digital repression takes shape. But what does that actually look like? What are the specific ways that authoritarian...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Elite Capture of the Security Sector
What does it mean when a state’s security sector undergoes what scholars call “elite capture”—a form of corruption in which military and defense resources are leveraged to benefit a small, powerful...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Proxy Warfare, Theory and Practice
Why do states engage in proxy warfare? How does what scholars call principal-agent theory explain the way proxy warfare actually plays out—particularly the challenges that arise when the interests...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Exploring Cyber Policy in the Department of Defense
Is it possible to deter adversaries in the cyber domain—and if so, how? What should the US Department of Defense be learning from the role of cyber in the war in Ukraine? How do activities in the...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Merits—and Pitfalls—of Fighting “By, With, and Through” a Partner Force
When the US military set out to combat ISIS in Iraq in the mid-2010s, it did so determined to operate “by, with, and through” partner forces. That approach would prove to have advantages in the case...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: In the Gray Zone, the Alliance is the Message
In the blurred spaces between peace and war, a contest over influence plays out. But how is the contest won? What are the components of an effective strategy in this gray zone? What role do...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Cyber-SOF-Space Triad
For nearly two decades of constant operations during America’s post-9/11 wars, Army special operations forces played a central role at the tip of the spear. But how will they best contribute to...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Digital Bear in Ukraine
For fourteen months, global headlines have been dominated by the war in Ukraine. But while attention has tended to fixate on antitank weapons, artillery systems, and armor, the conflict’s cyber...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: The Terrorist’s Dilemma
It’s been described as the “terrorist’s dilemma”—the trade-offs between maintaining security and exercising command and control that terrorist organizations must make. But how can counterterrorism...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: Deterrence and Asymmetry in the Taiwan Strait
What are the origins of America’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity regarding Taiwan? How effective has that strategy been and, more urgently, how effective is it likely to remain? How has...
Weaponizing Rights: An Untapped Tool for Special Operations Forces
Editor's note: The Irregular Warfare Initiative has exciting news! In partnership with the Modern War Institute at West Point and Princeton University's Empirical Studies of Conflict program, IWI...
US Military Doctrine Should Embrace Irregular Warfare—Here’s How
Editor's note: The Irregular Warfare Initiative has exciting news! In partnership with the Modern War Institute at West Point and Princeton University's Empirical Studies of Conflict program, IWI...
Irregular Warfare Podcast: How Emerging Technologies are Changing Human Conflict
As the character of warfare changes, emerging technologies are influencing the direction—and the magnitude—of that change. But what can past technological revolutions teach us as we prepare for the...
How to Lose an Unwinnable War: Why Intervention in the Sahel has Failed
The security situation in the Sahel region is complex, daunting, and not improving. The annual number of fatalities caused by conflicts in that part of Africa is estimated to have risen by 50...
Human Rights and Security Force Assistance: Closing the 127e Loophole
Editor's note: The Irregular Warfare Initiative has exciting news! In partnership with the Modern War Institute at West Point and Princeton University's Empirical Studies of Conflict program, IWI...
Connecting the Dots: An Inside Look at the National Defense Strategy
Episode 73 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines the National Defense Strategy and the way it interacts with irregular warfare. Our guests begin by describing the importance of the NDS and the...
Seizing the Digital Initiative: Zero Trust and Persistence in the Cyber Domain
Episode 72 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast is the first episode of the special Irregular Warfare Initiative Project Cyber. IWI projects explore critical topics impacting the modern practice,...
More Than “Wet Gap Crossings”: Riverine Capabilities are Needed for Irregular Warfare and Beyond
Editor’s Note: This article is part of IWI’s Project Maritime, a series exploring the intersection of irregular warfare and the modern maritime dimension. The project aims to contextualize...
In the Eye of the Beholder: Legitimacy, Drones, and US Counterterrorism Policy
Legitimacy—the public’s beliefs in the appropriateness of some behavior—is central to the sustainability of US drone strikes abroad. Research shows that the public does not generally challenge...
The Overlooked Irregular Warfare Expert the Pentagon Should Study Today
In his 1961 book about warfare in Southeast Asia, Street Without Joy, Bernard Fall, the Howard University professor and former French Resistance fighter, explained, “A dead Special Forces sergeant...
The Many Faces of Al-Shabaab
Episode 71 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines the often misunderstood security dynamics of Somalia and al-Shabaab. Our guests begin by describing the complex security landscape of Somalia....
An Eye for an Eye: The Dynamics of Blood Revenge in Civil War
Over the past fifty years, about two-thirds of all civil wars have occurred in countries where customary traditions of honor and retaliation regulate social life. Firmly embedded in the fabric of...
“By, With, and Through” Will Not Save US Forces from Direct Combat: American Ground Force Contributions to the Campaign against ISIS
In 2016, as it was pushing ISIS from its Euphrates valley strongholds in Iraq, the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS weighed how best to speed up the military campaign. The coalition ultimately chose...
Competition Campaigning: What It Looks Like and Implications for US Special Operations Command
In March 2022, the Pentagon released a new National Defense Strategy (NDS) that identified China as the “most consequential strategic competitor” of the United States. The NDS also described two...
Misguided Citizens: India’s Approach to Counterinsurgency
Episode 70 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the nuances of India’s approach to counterinsurgency throughout the nation’s history. Our guests assess the Indian counterinsurgency experience,...
Al-Shabaab and the Grim Realities of Somalia’s Forever War
Mary Harper, Everything You Have Told Me is True: The Many Faces of Al Shabaab (Hurst, 2019) Despite over a decade of international military interventions, the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group...
The Arctic Heats Up: Global Competition in the High North
Episode 69 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines the evolving relationship between climate change, Arctic security, and geopolitical competition. Our guests begin by describing America’s...
Resist to Deter: Why Taiwan Needs to Focus on Irregular Warfare
Taiwan and the United States appear to have reached the decade of maximum danger with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). While Taiwan has mostly accepted the need to shift to a “porcupine strategy”...
Aviation Advising: Access and Influence through Airpower
Episode 68 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores aviation advising and how airpower can be a critical aspect of building partner capacity. Our guests begin by highlighting past success of air...
In the Gray Zone, This Much is Black and White: SOF Must Develop Partner and Ally Nation Capabilities
Irregular warfare is fundamental to strategic competition with China and Russia. In his recent congressional testimony, General Richard Clarke described the critical space in which this competition...
Transmitting Values: Can US Security Force Assistance Export Democratic Norms?
Episode 67 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the complicated relationship between US foreign policy and democratic values, and the risks and opportunities associated with exporting liberal...
The Tyranny of Color-Coded Maps: What We Get Wrong about Measuring Control during Armed Conflict
After a stunning military advance, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. This seemingly sudden takeover, with hundreds of districts falling like dominos, took most observers...
Slow Burn: How US Security Cooperation Shapes Operational Environments
Episode 66 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores how America’s security cooperation programs can help shape regional security environments by training foreign militaries. Our guests begin by...
Teaching Irregular Warfare in the Era of Strategic Competition
The 2022 National Security Strategy focuses on US leadership in strategic competition over the future of international order. The document lays out the threats and challenges the United States faces...
From Street Fights to World Wars: What Gang Violence Can Teach Us about Conflict
Episode 65 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores why violence occurs from the local to the geopolitical level and how conflict can revert back to peace. Our guests today begin by asserting that...
Russia’s Vast Cyber Web Enables Deniability and Obscurity—But Not Without Risks
The Russian government’s war on Ukraine has sparked renewed interest in Russian cyber proxies. Before the war began, headlines described “Russian-backed” hackers defacing Ukrainian websites; since...
The Great Equalizer: Irregular Warfare in the City
Episode 64 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the interplay between urban spaces and irregular warfare. Our guests begin by examining how demographic and economic shifts are increasing the...
Kin Killing: When and Why Governments Target Family Members
Sometimes, when it comes to civil war and insurgencies, it’s all in the family. Consider the example of Bashar al-Assad, in Syria. Assad appointed family members to prominent military positions to...
Redefining Irregular Warfare: Legitimacy, Coercion, and Power
The Department of Defense is working on a new definition of irregular warfare, and the stakes are surprisingly high. The danger lies not just in forgetting whatever was learned from twenty years of...
After Mali: Learning from the French Experience of Irregular Warfare in the Sahel
Episode 63 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the French experience with irregular warfare in the Sahel since 2013. Our guests begin by explaining why the French were involved in combat...
How to Improve Your Pickup Aviation Advising Game
The United States failed in its attempts to build air forces in Iraq and Afghanistan for numerous reasons. Chief among these was policymakers’ excessive ambition: they failed to consider what the US...
Hiding in the Noise: Preparing the Irregular Warfare Community for the Age of AI
According to the 2020 Irregular Warfare Annex to the National Defense Strategy, the United States is underprepared to counter irregular warfare; the dawn of the AI age compounds...
Time, Space, and Material: Metrics for Assessing Irregular Warfare
Episode 62 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the diverse concepts that undergird irregular warfare (IW) as a whole. These theoretical structures offer innovative ways to conceptualize and...
The Pentagon’s Reckoning with Civilian Casualties Is a Good Start—But It’s Only a Start
On August 25, the US Department of Defense announced sweeping changes to help minimize civilian casualties in war. The “Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan,” or CHMR-AP, followed the...
Another Forgotten War: America’s Experience in Afghanistan
Episode 61 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast contemplates lessons learned from America’s twenty years of war in Afghanistan. Our guests begin by discussing whether, in the year following the US...
On Resistance: A Primer for Further Research
Authors' note: This primer reflects the discussion of an expert panel on resistance as a deliberate strategy featuring Major General Patrick Roberson, Dr. Ulrica Pettersson, Dr. Byron Harper, and...
Going Viral: Preparing Ground Forces for Combat in the Information Age
Of all the lessons of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, one stands out: the importance of achieving dominance in the information domain. From the first days of the war, Ukraine has used...
Insurgents Rarely Win: Adaptation in the Face of Failure
Episode 60 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores both the recent history and the future character of insurgency. Our guests begin by arguing that insurgency will play an important role in great...
The Next Variant of Russia’s Political Warfare Virus
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has provoked a belated immune response to Moscow’s political warfare campaign to subvert democracy and exploit systemic weaknesses in Europe and the United States. To be...