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.
Russian Maritime Sabotage: From Subcomponent of Special Operations to Evolving Form of Irregular Warfare
Russian sabotage is a matter of growing concern in Europe, with the risk of maritime sabotage taking particular prominence. And yet, the offence of ‘sabotage’ was only introduced in the UK in 2023, under the UK’s National Security Act. Sabotage is a key component of irregular warfare, whether conducted
Microinsurgency: Introducing and Defining a Distinct Category of Intrastate Conflict
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 11.12.2025 and is available here. Introduction Microinsurgencies, small-scale armed conflicts over natural resources internal to one
Japan’s Strategic Challenges: Historical Lessons and the Imperative for Comprehensive War Understanding
Editor’s Note: This article was submitted as part of the Irregular Warfare Initiative’s 2025 Writing Contest, in which authors were invited to explore how the United States and its partners can use irregular warfare to strengthen security cooperation, build trust, and enhance resilience among Indo-Pacific nations. This
IWI Fellow on CIMSEC’s Sea Control Podcast: Outsourcing Security at Sea
Irregular Warfare Initiative Fellow Pieter Zhao was featured on the Sea Control podcast from the Center for International Maritime Security (CIMSEC), discussing his article “Outsourcing Security at Sea—The Return of Private Maritime-Security Companies and Their Role in Twenty-First-Century Maritime Security.” The episode examines the expanding role
Pirates or Proxies? The Uskoks of Senj and Their Lessons for Irregular Warfare
The Uskoks were Christian refugees who transformed into maritime raiders operating on behalf of the Habsburg Empire, though often only loosely controlled by it. While they certainly were pirates in the classic sense, they were also strategic actors in an early modern proxy conflict between the Habsburgs and the Ottoman
How Much Would it Cost to Buy Away Foreign Influence in Moldova?
We’ve talked about Moldova before. And while the country may be of limited strategic importance to the United States, it’s value as a testing ground for offensive economic security measures may be unparalleled. Recent droughts have exacerbated Moldova’s susceptibility to foreign influence, given Moldova’s reliance on
Strategic Disruption from Orbit: Space-Based Capabilities for Irregular Warfare in the Indo-Pacific
Editor’s Note: This article was submitted for the Irregular Warfare Initiative’s 2025 Writing Contest, which invited authors to examine how the United States and its partners can employ irregular warfare to strengthen security cooperation and resilience across the Indo-Pacific. We have edited this piece following its selection.
Gray Zone Clarity: Building Irregular Maritime Intelligence through Civilian-Linked Networks
Editor’s Note: This article was submitted as part of the Irregular Warfare Initiative’s 2025 Writing Contest, in which authors were invited to explore how the United States and its partners can use irregular warfare to strengthen security cooperation, build trust, and enhance resilience among Indo-Pacific nations. This
Holiday Reading and Charitable Giving Guide from the IWI Maritime Program
For the upcoming Holiday Season – and just in time for Black Friday - the staff of IWI's Maritime Program, along with select authors and experts - are providing the following reading recommendations as gift ideas. Our team is highlighting texts that they find to hold valuable insights on maritime themes,
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.