The Future of Conflict and Special Operations Forces
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Since 9/11, Special Operations Forces (SOF) have often been cast as the United States’ sharpest instrument: they hunt high-value targets, train partners, and operate at the seams where conventional forces cannot
Irregular Warfare Is Not A Thing
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. It is difficult to find anyone satisfied with the definition of irregular warfare. Even its parents recoil from the ugliness of the definitional baby. In a 2025 IWI podcast, Mark Crnkovich, the Pentagon
The Afghan Army: What Advisors Couldn’t See and Officers Couldn’t Change
What Afghan Military Corruption Actually Looked Like and What It Means for Future Partner Force Development
Assessing Special Operations Forces (SOF) 2040 (Part 1): The Operator Is the Platform
Editor’s Note: this article is being republished with the permission of Small Wars Journal as part of a republishing arrangement between IWI and SWJ. The original article was published July 13, 2026 and is available here. Series Introduction This is the first installment in a four-part series examining
What Makes a Weapon Too Horrific to Use?
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Rules governing warfare are nearly as ancient as warfare itself. In the Iliad, Achilles loses favor with the gods and invites his own destruction by abusing Hector’s corpse. In 1139, the Second
Floating Liabilities: Aircraft Carriers in the Age of Precision Strike and Irregular Warfare
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. In mid-March 2026, satellite imagery confirmed what many defense analysts had long feared: the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike groups had quietly abandoned their forward offensive positions
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
