Mexico’s Network War—Without a Network Strategy
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. The aggressive campaign Mexico has sustained against organized crime for the past two decades has many of the characteristics of irregular warfare. While criminal organizations have ebbed and flowed across different political administrations
AI in Cyber Conflict: Short-term Offensive Opportunities, Long-term Defensive Advantage
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. There is a palpable sense of apprehension among cybersecurity professionals and scholars that AI will revolutionize cyber conflict. A slew of recent reports conjure images of supercharged, AI-automated cyber attacks. The worst
Thin Margins, Strategic Effects: Irregular Warfare and Contested Logistics in the Arctic
Alaska’s concentrated logistics are vulnerable to below-threshold irregular warfare from Russia and China. Building civil-military resilience and dispersing supply capacity can secure Arctic deterrence before a crisis hits.
Kurdish Underground Resistance and Civil Disobedience Against the Iranian Security State
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. When the Iranian security state unleashed its typical playbook of repressive policing and internet blackouts in early 2026, the Islamic Republic aimed to asphyxiate the uprising. To the contrary, IWI interviews from Iraqi
Gray Zone Contestation Between North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. While global chaos mounts with lingering conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and shifting U.S. strategic priorities, the risk is not only escalation in active theaters but opportunism
Information Disorder and Irregular Warfare: Three Things to Know
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. When U.S. and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026, a parallel war began online. This battle is being fought not with bombs or drones, but with deepfakes and
Ordinary Crime, Hybrid Threat, or Irregular Warfare?
Adversaries target PEMSII domains through coordinated hybrid campaigns, yet the UK legal system risks fragmenting this conduct into isolated offenses. This analysis shows why coherent framing is a vital strategic capability for national resilience.
Between Scylla and Charybdis: The Gulf’s Irregular Tomorrow
As U.S. security guarantees in the Arabian Gulf face unprecedented strain, regional states must confront a resilient or fragmented Iran alone. This analysis outlines the strategic shift toward an indigenous, "Arabia-First" framework to counter persistent, below-threshold irregular threats.
Protocol Insurgency: Winning the War of Conditions in the Digital Age
Modern irregular warfare is shifting from physical terrain to digital protocols. This analysis explores how adversaries leverage infrastructure to build systemic dependence, introducing Technical Foreign Internal Defense (Tech-FID) and protocol insurgency to maintain strategic advantage.
Strategic Resources in Competition: Critical Minerals & Rare Earth Elements
21–22 July 2026 · 0830–1600 Carahsoft HQ · 11493 Sunset Hills Road, Reston, VA The Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI) and the Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) will host a two-day conference at Carahsoft Headquarters in Reston, Virginia, focused on the role of critical minerals and rare earth elements
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
