Maritime

Exploring modern challenges at the intersection of irregular warfare and strategic competition in the maritime dimension, from malign activity to domain awareness.

Iran, Ukraine, and the Future of Naval Warfare
Podcasts Maritime Special Operations Kyle Atwell Alisa Laufer

Iran, Ukraine, and the Future of Naval Warfare

Episode 156 examines what the U.S.-Iran War and Russia-Ukraine War reveal about how weaker states and irregular actors contest navies, maritime commerce, and global energy flows. Summary This conversation examines naval irregular warfare in an era of drones, shadow fleets, contested chokepoints, and attacks on commercial shipping. The

Kyle AtwellAlisa Laufer
Editorial Board
Join Us at the 2026 CIWAG Maritime Symposium
Events Maritime IWI Maritime Program

Join Us at the 2026 CIWAG Maritime Symposium

The maritime domain is entering an era of gathering storms and shifting tides. Join leading practitioners, scholars, and policymakers at the 2026 CIWAG Maritime Symposium, taking place 22–24 June 2026 in Newport, Rhode Island, for discussions on some of the most pressing challenges shaping maritime security today. Topics include

IWI Maritime Program
Editorial Board
Operations in the Amazon: The Peruvian Military’s Riverine Operations
Articles Maritime Wilder Alejandro Sánchez

Operations in the Amazon: The Peruvian Military’s Riverine Operations

This article is a Focus Area self-published piece, and the content has not undergone standard editorial review. IWI hosts these pieces to facilitate rapid dialogue among practitioners, but the analysis, research, and original thought within the article remain the sole responsibility of the author. The United States military is in

Wilder Alejandro Sánchez
Editorial Board
Q&A with Robert D. Kaplan
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth

Q&A with Robert D. Kaplan

Editor’s Note: This article is presented in a question-and-answer format, with the Irregular Warfare Initiative’s Maritime Program (facilitated by Christopher Booth) interviewing Robert D. Kaplan. This piece has been edited for clarity and readability, as spoken language differs from how text is read on the page. “Robert D.

Christopher Booth
Editorial Board
Proof Against the Clock: The Two-Hour Rule for Second Thomas Shoal
Articles Maritime Richard Byno

Proof Against the Clock: The Two-Hour Rule for Second Thomas Shoal

Salty air whips across the deck as the Philippine resupply vessel shoulders through turbulent swells, its bow locked onto the skeletal silhouette of the BRP Sierra Madre rusting atop the reef at Second Thomas Shoal. Dawn hasn’t yet fully broken, but the sea gives its warning anyway. Within seconds,

Richard Byno
Editorial Board
Q&A with Former Israeli Shin Bet Director and Command-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy – Ami Ayalon on Iran, Gaza, and Posturing the Israeli Navy for the Future
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth Walker Mills

Q&A with Former Israeli Shin Bet Director and Command-in-Chief of the Israeli Navy – Ami Ayalon on Iran, Gaza, and Posturing the Israeli Navy for the Future

✉️ Email header below is auto-generated from this post’s author tag. It only appears in the newsletter — please don’t edit or delete it. “The essence of victory is not to kill your enemy; it is to change your political reality.” — Ami Ayalon Editor’s Note: This article is presented

Christopher BoothWalker Mills
Multiple authors
Q & A: Karl Marlantes on Vietnam, Leadership, and the Lessons America Still Hasn’t Learned
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth Walker Mills

Q & A: Karl Marlantes on Vietnam, Leadership, and the Lessons America Still Hasn’t Learned

✉️ Email header below is auto-generated from this post’s author tag. It only appears in the newsletter — please don’t edit or delete it. Editor’s Note: This article is presented in a question-and-answer format, with the Irregular Warfare Initiative interviewing Karl Marlantes. This piece has been edited for clarity

Christopher BoothWalker Mills
Multiple authors
Russian Maritime Sabotage: From Subcomponent of Special Operations to Evolving Form of Irregular Warfare
Articles Maritime Sidharth Kaushal Edward Black

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

Sidharth KaushalEdward Black
Multiple authors
IWI Fellow on CIMSEC’s Sea Control Podcast: Outsourcing Security at Sea
Articles Maritime The Irregular Warfare Initiative

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 of private maritime-security

The Irregular Warfare Initiative
The Irregular Warfare Initiative
Pirates or Proxies? The Uskoks of Senj and Their Lessons for Irregular Warfare
Articles Europe Maritime Robert Redding

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

Robert Redding
Robert Redding
Showing of 34 posts

Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.

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Exploring modern challenges and opportunities in the maritime dimension at the intersection of irregular warfare and strategic competition. With a focus on current events and their underlying geographical and historical patterns, recent changes to policy & doctrine, and emerging technologies, we aim to contextualize underlying drivers of conflict in the maritime dimension and inspire dialogue toward integrated statecraft approaches.

Our program is aligned around the following areas:

  • Irregular Warfare in Maritime Environments | Riverine, Littoral, Subsea & Seabed
  • Malign Maritime Activity | Illegal, Dangerous, and Destabilizing, including:
    • Russia’s use of its illicit oil-smuggling Shadow Fleet
    • Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing 
    • 21st Century Piracy
  • Historical Case Studies | Lessons to be learned for modern practitioners from past campaigns, strategies, and novel solutions from military, intelligence, and other irregular warfare actors
  • Maritime Domain Awareness | Emerging technology and novel approaches

Check out our Project Maritime Look Book.

Meet the Team

Christopher D. Booth Christopher D. Booth Co-Director, Maritime
Walker Mills Walker Mills Co-Director, Maritime
Brandon Tran Brandon Tran Intern, Maritime