The Tyranny Of Color Coded Maps: What We Get Wrong About Measuring Control During Armed Conflict
Ibraheem Bahiss, Ashley Jackson, Leigh Mayhew and Florian Weigand After a stunning military advance, the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. This seemingly sudden takeover, with hundreds of districts falling like dominos, took most observers by surprise. After all, maps had long shown most of Afghanistan’s
Slow Burn: How US Security Cooperation Shapes Operational Environments
Benjamin Jebb and Barbara Elias Episode 66 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores how America’s security cooperation programs can help shape regional security environments by training foreign militaries. Our guests begin by addressing why America settled on a global strategy of exporting its security to allied and partner militaries.
Teaching Irregular Warfare In The Era Of Strategic Competition
Elena Pokalova The 2022 National Security Strategy focuses on US leadership in strategic competition over the future of international order. The document lays out the threats and challenges the United States faces today from adversaries such as Russia and China. In order to prevail over such competitors and secure US
Teaching Irregular Warfare In The Era Of Strategic Competition
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. The 2022 National Security Strategy focuses on US leadership in strategic competition over the future of international order. The document lays out the threats and challenges the United States faces today
From Street Fights To World Wars: What Gang Violence Can Teach Us About Conflict
Laura Jones and Benjamin Jebb Episode 65 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores why violence occurs from the local to the geopolitical level and how conflict can revert back to peace. Our guests today begin by asserting that peace—and not war—is the natural order of things for the
Russia's Vast Cyber Web Enables Deniability And Obscurity—But Not Without Risks
Justin Sherman Describing every cyber operation coming from within Russia as a “Russian cyberattack” obscures the large, complex, and often opaque web of different cyber actors in Russia—each with varied relationships with the state. As I describe in a new Atlantic Council report, there are cybercriminals operating at the
The Great Equalizer: Irregular Warfare In The City
Kyle Atwell and Benjamin Jebb Episode 64 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the interplay between urban spaces and irregular warfare. Our guests begin by examining how demographic and economic shifts are increasing the importance of urban centers around the globe. They then explore the realities of urban combat and
Kin Killing: When And Why Governments Target Family Members
by Emil Souleimanov, David S. Siroky and Peter Krause Sometimes, when it comes to civil war and insurgencies, it’s all in the family. Consider the example of Bashar al-Assad, in Syria. Assad appointed family members to prominent military positions to ensure institutional loyalty, while nearly one-quarter of
Redefining Irregular Warfare: Legitimacy, Coercion, And Power
by David H. Ucko and Thomas A. Marks The Department of Defense is working on a new definition of irregular warfare, and the stakes are surprisingly high. The danger lies not just in forgetting whatever was learned from twenty years of engagement with substate actors through counterinsurgency and counterterrorism. Rather,
After Mali: Learning From The French Experience Of Irregular Warfare In The Sahel
Laura Jones and Kyle Atwell Episode 63 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the French experience with irregular warfare in the Sahel since 2013. Our guests begin by explaining why the French were involved in combat operations in the Sahel region of Africa and how their forces were organized against
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
