Europe

IWI Fireside Chat with GEN David Petraeus

Join us for an insightful discussion on the transformation of warfare over the decades, led by GEN David Petraeus, as he delves into his latest book, "Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from 1945 to Ukraine".

Two Years On: Russia's Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine and the Continuing Lessons for the Future of Irregular Warfare

Introduction – Russia's Invasion of Ukraine in Context Russia’s escalating war against Ukraine, especially the past two years since the full-scale invasion in 2022, has highlighted several critical lessons regarding irregular warfare and its broader implications for global security and stability. While irregular warfare is widely understood to

Irregular Warfare in the Post-Soviet Space: The Republic of Moldova

Eastern Europe has historically served as an epicenter for influence operations, with a number of actors – particularly Russia – using influence tactics to shape political narratives and public opinion in the region. Hosted by Irregular Warfare Initiative's Project Europe, this virtual panel brought together the foremost experts on Eastern

Ukraine: What is to Come? (Partnered with Northwestern University)

Snakes, Stamps, and Javelins: How Ukrainian Information and Influence Operations Brought the Fight to Russia

Daniel Grobarcik On the cusp of a springtime counteroffensive, Ukraine has defied expectations in its defense against Russia’s invasion. From predictions of an imminent Ukrainian collapse on the eve of invasion to a Ukrainian army that is now set to receive Abrams tanks, foreign aid has bolstered Ukrainian forces

Divided by a Common Language: How Europe Views Irregular Warfare

With the return of strategic competition, Irregular Warfare (IW) has become the focus of attention in defense circles around the world. Some argue that mastery in this field will decide who emerges victorious in such competition. However, IW is an elusive concept across the US government and among US allies

Over-the-Horizon and Under the Threshold: Bringing Unconventional Warfare to Ukraine

Hannah Lamb This piece was selected as a winner in the undergraduate category of an essay contest co-sponsored by IWI and the Joint Staff J7 Office of Irregular Warfare and Competition (OIWC). Due to the nature of the contest, this piece is published with only minimal inputs from our editorial

Maritime Sabotage: Protecting Europe’s Soft Underbelly

The September 2022 attacks on the Nordstream 1 and 2 pipelines convinced many in Europe that malign actors have the capability and intent to attack critical undersea infrastructure. While the attacks targeted gas pipelines, equally vulnerable is the vast system of fiber-optic and data cables that underpin the global exchange

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 Next Variant Of Russia's Political Warfare Virus

by Joshua C. Huminski Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has provoked a belated immune response to Moscow’s political warfare campaign to subvert democracy and exploit systemic weaknesses in Europe and the United States. To be sure, there were attempts to halt or roll back the Kremlin’s efforts before