South America in Competition Conference: Bonus Episode 1
Episode 138 is a bonus episode built out of conversations held with panelists from the 2025 Irregular Warfare Initiative and Special Operations Association of America South America in Competition Conference. The South America in Competition Conference brought together over 250 researchers, practitioners, and members of industry for two days at
Quantifying the Gray Zone: A Framework for Measuring Hybrid Warfare Power Balances
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 on 06.17.2025 and is available here. The contemporary security environment defies traditional categorizations of war and peace. We
The Necessary Evolution of U.S. Grand Strategy: Learning from the Past to Address Modern Challenges in the Era of Strategic Competition
Introduction In an era of increasing global complexity and competition, the United States faces unprecedented challenges that require a fundamental reassessment of its grand strategy. As defined by Sir Basil Liddell Hart, the role of grand strategy is, “to coordinate and direct all the resources of a nation, or band
Ukraine's Railway Wars: How to Sabotage Russian Military Logistics
Editor’s Note: This article is a part of Project SOF in Competition. The project explores the intersection among irregular warfare, SOF, and broader national security challenges. We invite your participation and engagement as we embark on this project. If you would like to contribute to the Special Project, please
Decapitating The Hydra: Iran’s Response Options To Israel’s Offensive
Israel’s recent decisive operations targeting Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah (LH), and the Houthis signal a bold attempt to dismantle Iran’s proxy networks. These strikes raise critical questions about Tehran’s response options in the context of irregular warfare. For Iran, these groups form the backbone of its regional influence,
Ukraine’s Special Operations Troops Sow Destruction in Russia
Elite Ukrainian units have had a significant effect working behind the lines of the Kursk offensive. These are classic unconventional warfare tactics, writes US Special Forces officer LTC Doug Livermore in his latest CEPA article. War is never a happy experience, but these must be satisfying days for Ukraine’s
What makes warfare irregular? Pineland Underground speaks with Mr/LTC Doug Livermore on Irregular Warfare
Did you know the entire Joint Force engages in Irregular Warfare? Often defined differently depending on the individual or organization you speak to. The Pineland Underground podcast has Doug Livermore on to help define and discuss Irregular Warfare, the nature of conflict, and how U.S. adversaries also apply it
Time to Strike Back Against Russia’s Shadow War
In CEPA's "Time to Strike Back Against Russia's Shadow War," Doug Livermore argues that the West must adopt a more aggressive strategy to counter Russia's hybrid attacks. Livermore suggests moving beyond passive responses to actively punishing and deterring Kremlin-directed sabotage, assassinations, and
NATO in the Crosshairs of the Houthis
On July 12th 2024, IWI's Director of Engagements Doug Livermore was published by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) in an article about the impact of the Houthis' disruptive activity on NATO states. The Houthis’ anti-shipping activities in Yemen, including the use of mines, unmanned aerial
Two Years On: Russia's Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine and the Continuing Lessons for the Future of Irregular Warfare
Introduction – Russia's Invasion of Ukraine in Context Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine, especially the past two years since the full-scale invasion in 2022, has highlighted several critical lessons regarding irregular warfare and its broader implications for global security and stability. While irregular warfare is widely understood to
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
