Articles
Our articles cut through the noise on irregular warfare to connect strategic theory to operational reality and translate complexity into insight for practitioners and policymakers. No time to read? Check out our podcast, "Insider: Short of War," which transforms our articles into concise, engaging audio pieces you can listen to anywhere. Available directly in most of our articles and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.
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’
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
SOF in Competition Special Project Announcement
Marine Raider nighttime training
Irregular Warfare at Sea: Using Privateers To Seize Chinese Commerce
Editor’s Note I: This article is part of IWI’s Project Maritime, a series exploring the intersection of irregular warfare and the modern maritime dimension. Focusing on current events and their underlying geographical and historical patterns, we aim to contextualize the drivers of conflict in the maritime domain and
Why IWI Project Europe?
To deter and defend against irregular threats. Editor's note: This article is part of Project Europe which focuses on European and European-adjacent security issues to deter and defend against irregular threats, develop IW knowledge, and advance the American understanding of allied, partner, and competitor practices of IW.
Sailing through the spyglass: The strategic advantages of Blue OSINT, ubiquitous sensor networks, and deception
In this insightful article published by the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, IWI Executive Director Guido Torres and co-author Austin Gray explore the revolutionary impact of Blue Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) on maritime security. "Sailing Through the Spyglass" delves into how advancements
Eroding Global Stability: The Cybersecurity Strategies Of China, Russia, North Korea, And Iran
Editor's note: This article is part of Project Cyber, which explores and characterizes the myriad threats facing the United States and its allies in cyberspace, the information environment, and conventional and irregular spaces. Please contact us if you would like to propose an article, podcast, or event environment.
Beijing's Long Game: Gray Zone Tactics in the Pacific
“During the progress of hostilities, guerillas gradually develop into orthodox forces that operate in conjunction with other units of the regular army… There can be no doubt that the ultimate result of this will be victory.” -On Guerilla Warfare, by Mao Zedong The expulsion of former Chinese defense ministers Li
Irregular Warfare in the 21st Century: Autocracy's Global Playbook
Anne Applebaum, Autocracy, Inc. The Dictators Who Want to Run the World, (Penguin Random House 2024) Irregular warfare (IW), often hailed as the oldest form of warfare, remains an enigma within the US defense apparatus and government at large. The Department of Defense (DoD) offers conflicting definitions, while Congress’s
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.