Competitive Intervention, Proxy War, and Military Assistance: Anderson, Eyre, and Kuhlman
Episode 146 examines the impact of external military assistance on civil wars. Summary This conversation delves into the complexities of competitive intervention in civil wars, exploring the types of military aid provided, how external support influences conflict dynamics, and implications for practitioners and policymakers. The discussion highlights the prevalence of
American Samoa is America’s Strategic Hub in the South Pacific
American Samoa is home to Pago Pago Harbor, a rare natural deepwater port in the South Pacific. One hundred twenty-five years ago, Samoan leaders agreed to place American Samoa under US Navy jurisdiction for its own security, and it later became a US territory. The island played a vital role
Schrödinger's Security Partner: The Paradox of Measuring Security Force Assistance
U.S. security cooperation
Emerging Technology and Irregular Warfare: Launching a New Focus Area
Technology Is Redefining Irregular Warfare. Here's What That Means There's no agreed-upon playbook for emerging technology in the gray zone, and no consensus on what's next. Experts debate competing timelines. The policy community commissions studies that become outdated before publication. And those working in
The Role of Foreign Fighters in a Taiwan Resistance Scenario
"Taiwanese veterans who fought in Ukraine’s International Legion against Russia have returned with a stark warning: Taiwan is not ready for war with China." While diplomatic efforts and military deterrence strategies dominate headlines on Taiwan, a less explored area is the potential role of foreign fighters should
Finding the Signal within the Noise: What Information Warriors Need to Know About Human Pattern Recognition.
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 12.18.2025 and is available here. In 2022, Russian state media launched a coordinated narrative campaign portraying Ukraine’
Foreign Fighters in Ukraine and Beyond
Episode 145 examines the role of foreign fighters in war. Our guests begin by highlighting the long history of foreign fighters in conflict, from the early United States and the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s to contemporary cases such as the International Legion in Ukraine and foreign fighters in
NATO’s Latest Doctrine on Security Force Assistance: What’s New?
Editor’s Note: Readers will be aware of the latest tensions surrounding NATO following recent U.S. statements on tariffs and alliance commitments. This article was drafted and edited before those developments emerged, and therefore does not address them directly. In August 2025, NATO published the second edition of the
From Paper to Permafrost: Applying Irregular Warfare Doctrine to Arctic Homeland Defense
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 12.02.2025 and is available here. Abstract The American Arctic is the shortest avenue of approach to the
Iran, Ukraine, and the Realities of “Resistance” & “Regime Change”
This article, published in Small Wars Journal in mid-2025, examines the limits of externally driven regime-change strategies through a comparative analysis of Iran and Ukraine. Drawing on Ukraine’s experience of bottom-up resistance, the authors argue that durable political transformation depends on long-term civic mobilisation rather than state-centric or decapitation-focused
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
