Autonomous Ghosts are Reshaping Irregular Warfare and Maritime Security
This article is part of Project Maritime, which explores modern challenges and opportunities in the maritime dimension at the intersection of irregular warfare and strategic competition. We warmly invite your participation and engagement as we embark on this project. Please send submissions with the subject line “Project Maritime Submission” and
Uprooting the Enemy: A New Paradigm for Irregular Warfare Analysis
Editor’s Note: This article and accompanying report are a part of Project SOF in Competition. The report, Integrated Understanding: Re-Thinking the Human Environment of Military Operations, is the first of the Irregular Warfare Initiative's occasional paper series. If you would like to contribute to this Special
Welcome to the Resistance: Call for Papers—SOF in Competition
Team Resistance – SOF in Competition To launch the Project the Resistance Team will take center stage! Welcome to the Resistance strand within the SOF in Competition project, we are setting out an initial agenda for the global IW community of practice. We want to drive debate around issues that range
Afghanistan Three Years Later: Alliances and Rivalries
Episode 113 examines the challenges presented by the Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) in Afghanistan within the context of the three-year anniversary of U.S. withdrawal from the region. Our guests share their extensive backgrounds, research, and practical experience related to the emergence of ISK in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They
Burma's Quest for Drone Supremacy: A Cautionary Tale
Editor’s note: This article is part of Project Air Power, which explores and advocates for the totality of air, aviation, and space power in irregular, hybrid, and gray-zone environments. We invite you to contribute to the discussion, explore the difficult questions, and help influence the future of air
Seize the Advantage: Three Models to Improve Security Cooperation Planning
Winston Churchill famously quipped, “There is only one thing worse than fighting with Allies, and that is fighting without them.” Nearly eighty years later, the Department of Defense echoed Churchill’s logic by declaring Allies and partners as the 2022 National Defense Strategy’s (NDS’) center of gravity and America’
Ukrainian Civilians Are Pioneering the Art of Resistance
Nonviolent tools are undercutting the Russian occupation. This article, published in Foreign Policy in early 2024, offers unique insights into how civilian networks have pioneered new approaches to non-violent resistance in occupied Ukraine. Written by Dr. Nicholas Krohley, Resistance Team Lead for IWI's SOF in Competition project,
The Peril of Ignoring the Legitimacy of Violent Non-State Actors
Looking around the world today, there is a glaring gap in both national and international approaches to non-state actor violence. There is little engagement with the idea that susceptible populations will come to support, sympathize with, or tolerate insurgency in the absence of credible authorities. Too often, the United
The Cacti and the Grass: The Collapse of Afghanistan's Security Forces
Introduction For those of us who fought, bled, and lost friends in Afghanistan, it is hard to fathom the approaching third anniversary of the American withdrawal on August 30, 2021 and the subsequent collapse of the Afghanistan National Defense Security Forces (ANDSF) soon thereafter. Years later, we are still asking
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
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
