IWI Fellow on CIMSEC’s Sea Control Podcast: Outsourcing Security at Sea
Irregular Warfare Initiative Fellow Pieter Zhao was featured on the Sea Control podcast from the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), discussing his article “Outsourcing Security at Sea—The Return of Private Maritime-Security Companies and Their Role in Twenty-First-Century Maritime Security.” The episode examines the expanding role of private maritime-security
Dr Kerry Chavez, Co-Director of IWI's Air & Space Team, at NATO Strategic Direction-South Hub
Dr Kerry Chavez, IWI’s Co-Director of the Air & Space team, addressed a joint conference of the NATO Strategic Direction—South Hub and the NATO-Istanbul Cooperation Initiative Centre in Kuwait. The theme of the conference was, “The Use of Emerging and Disruptive Technologies by Non-State Armed Groups in the
Air & Space Director Moderates Future of Air Power Panel at RAF Museum’s Annual Conference
On 5 September, Dr Rick Newton, Irregular Warfare Initiative’s Director of its Air & Space Focus Area, recently moderated the “Future of Air Power” panel at the Royal Air Force Museum’s annual conference. The purpose of this year’s symposium was to consider new perspectives in military aviation
Fireside Chat: The Future of Total Defense
Rethinking Resilience & Resistance in Europe As the Russian threat persists, and European democracies navigate mounting internal and external pressures, this fireside chat asks a foundational question: Who should own the burden of national defense—governments, or society itself? Overview The Irregular Warfare Initiative brings together a panel of senior
IWI Advisor Calls for Targeted Cyber Backstop
Matthew McCabe, IWI’s Economic and Legal Warfare Project Advisor, published a new article in Threat Beat outlining how the U.S. can bolster cyber resilience through a federal reinsurance backstop focused on critical infrastructure sectors. He argues that the insurance market alone cannot absorb catastrophic cyber risk. This is
IWI’s Economic and Legal Warfare Team Published by Joint Special Operations University Press on Contingent Capital and Economic Statecraft
IWI’s General Counsel and Co-Director of the Economic and Legal Warfare (ELW) Project, Matt Flug, together with fellow Co-Director Thomas Johansmeyer, published a piece in the Joint Special Operations University Press introducing the concept of insurfare. The article highlights the use of contingent capital—such as time-based or performance-triggered
Past, Present, and Beyond: Belgian Perspectives on Irregular Warfare
This IWI Project Europe Fireside Chat takes a closer look at Belgium’s experiences and perspectives on Irregular Warfare. We do so by inviting two key figures within the Belgian Special Operations Forces community: the Director of the Belgian Special Forces Command (Colonel Wim Denolf) and the Commander of the
South America in Competition Conference
Carahsoft HQ, Falls Church, VA - July 16 & 17 2025 The Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI) and the Special Operations Association of America (SOAA) are proud to present the South America in Competition Conference on July 16th and July 17th, 2025. Bringing together ~200 leaders from government, academia, private industry,
Cybersecurity's Climate Crisis
In this article, originally published by the British Actuarial Journal, Irregular Warfare Initiative’s Tom Johansmeyer explores how the escalating effects of climate change may compromise global cybersecurity. Titled Bad Decisions Have Consequences: How Cyber Security Could Fall Victim to Climate Change, the article examines the underexplored intersection of cyber
Covert Action in Irregular Wars
In this article, originally published by Small Wars Journal, Irregular Warfare Initiative’s Jonathan W. Hackett writes about the Central Intelligence Agency covert operation 'Timber Sycamore' that ran in Syria from 2012 to 2017. This qualitative case study employs content analysis and descriptive inference to analyze declassified documents,
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
