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.
How the National Guard Can Help Counter Chinese Influence
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan inflicted widespread physical devastation across the Caribbean. In the storm’s aftermath, China quietly began to establish a foothold in the region, making offers that some countries
How to Fix the Joint Combined Exchange Training Program
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. At precisely 2:30 a.m., a combined team of hackers from the United States and one of its partner nations launched a denial-of-service attack against the adversary’s
Guerrillas, Revolutionaries, Insurgents, And Militias And Mafiosi: The Grim Threats Of Irregular Strategy
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. As Western policymakers and researchers reflect upon the lessons of two decades of the Global War on Terrorism, they should assess the ways in which the terminology used to frame and
Beyond War and Peace: The PLA’s “Non-War Military Activities” Concept
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In 2021, researchers revealed hundreds of new missile silos in the deserts of western China. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) also tested a new hypersonic glide missile that encircled
There’s a Race for Arctic-Capable Drones Going On, and the United States is Losing
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. Right now, the unmanned aerial system is the IED of the next ten to twenty years. — General James McConville, Chief Staff of the Army, July 31, 2021, on the Irregular Warfare
The Future of US Security Force Assistance
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. The United States has invested heavily in building the military capacity of partner forces in the two decades since 9/11. But these security force assistance (SFA) efforts have had mixed
Managing Violence: Lessons In Irregular Warfare From India
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. In February 2020, the United States and the Afghan Taliban negotiated a seven-day reduction in violence levels. As part of the deal, the two sides agreed to a series of
The Lessons of Two Decades of War: A Review of IWI’s Inaugural Conference
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. The Irregular Warfare Initiative’s inaugural conference was conducted on September 10, 2021, and brought together almost nine hundred participants. This conference builds on the mission of IWI—to bridge the
Requiem for the Afghan “Fabergé Egg” Army: Why Did It Crack So Quickly?
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. Over the course of two decades and at a price tag of over $88 billion, the United States and its NATO partners built a modern and well-equipped Afghan military—one
Learning All the Wrong Lessons: Why an Over-the-Horizon Approach to Counterterrorism Won’t Work
This Irregular Warfare Initiative article was originally posted through our partner organization, the Modern War Institute at West Point. President Joe Biden’s speech in the wake of the US withdrawal from Kabul was intended to put a seal on a painful chapter in the nation’s history. “I was
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