Maritime

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

Gray Zone Clarity: Building Irregular Maritime Intelligence through Civilian-Linked Networks
Articles Maritime Erika Lafrennie

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 article

Erika Lafrennie
Erika Lafrennie
Holiday Reading and Charitable Giving Guide from the IWI Maritime Program
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth Walker Mills

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

Christopher BoothWalker Mills
Multiple authors
Resistance is Victory: Taiwan’s 2025 National Defense Report and Resisting Cognitive Coercion
Articles Maritime Brian Kerg

Resistance is Victory: Taiwan’s 2025 National Defense Report and Resisting Cognitive Coercion

In October 2025, Taiwan published its latest National Defense Report. This document, released every two years by the Ministry of National Defense (MND), periodically informs the people of Taiwan, “what it has done, what it is doing, [and] what it prepares to do” in their defense. It is an expansive

Brian Kerg
Brian Kerg
Tainted Catch: The Role of the Distant Water Fishing Fleet in China’s Campaign to Defeat the West
Articles Maritime Dr. Ian Ralby

Tainted Catch: The Role of the Distant Water Fishing Fleet in China’s Campaign to Defeat the West

Editor’s note: This article is part of IWI's Maritime Program, which explores modern challenges and opportunities in the maritime dimension at the intersection of irregular warfare and strategic competition. As the death tolls mount in kinetic conflicts around the world – in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, and elsewhere – the

Dr. Ian Ralby
Dr. Ian Ralby
Irregular Solutions for Irregular Threats: Maritime Lessons from Dutch Counterpiracy Operations in Colonial Indonesia
Articles Maritime Pieter W.G. Zhao

Irregular Solutions for Irregular Threats: Maritime Lessons from Dutch Counterpiracy Operations in Colonial Indonesia

Editor’s note: This article is part of IWI's Maritime Program, which explores modern challenges and opportunities in the maritime dimension at the intersection of irregular warfare and strategic competition. Follow us on X (formerly Twitter) @proj_maritime. With the de facto closure of the vital Red Sea

Pieter W.G. Zhao
Pieter W.G. Zhao
Russia’s Shadow Fleet: The Dangerous Tanker Network Threatening Global Waters
Articles Maritime George Janjalia

Russia’s Shadow Fleet: The Dangerous Tanker Network Threatening Global Waters

Russia’s so‑called “Shadow Fleet” operates in plain sight, turning the world’s shipping lanes into a tool of economic and ecological risk. Hundreds of these shadow tankers carry crude through European waters each day, many beyond their service life and registered under opaque holding structures. The result is

George Janjalia
George Janjalia
Maritime Domain Awareness or Silent War?
Articles Maritime James Park

Maritime Domain Awareness or Silent War?

By James Park President Trump’srecent bilateral summits with Japan and India underscore a tacit trend: the central role of US allies in the Indo-Pacific region. In particular, evolving US-India ties have significant implications for the rest of the Quadrilateral Dialogue (QUAD) member states and other US alliance structures in

James Park
James Park
Waterborne Assault: A Constant in Both Irregular and Conventional War
Articles Maritime Ben Connable

Waterborne Assault: A Constant in Both Irregular and Conventional War

Western militaries have a knowledge gap with major force design implications. Despite several excellent histories of individual waterborne operations in irregular warfare, there appears to be no comprehensive study of these cases. Absent holistic analysis, the frequency, scale, and impact of activities like amphibious and riverine assault in irregular wars

Ben Connable
Ben Connable
Secret Alliances and Silent Sabotage: Q & A with Dr Tony Insall
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth Walker Mills

Secret Alliances and Silent Sabotage: Q & A with Dr Tony Insall

Main Image Credit: The Norwegian Resistance Museum | Norges Hjemmefrontmuseum Editor’s note: This article is part of Project Maritime, which explores modern challenges and opportunities in the maritime dimension at the intersection of irregular warfare and strategic competition. We warmly invite your participation and engagement as we embark on this

Christopher BoothWalker Mills
Multiple authors
To Beat China’s Navy to the Punch, Defend Forward in Taiwan
Articles Maritime Brian Kerg

To Beat China’s Navy to the Punch, Defend Forward in Taiwan

The US cannot keep pace with China’s exponential growth in naval power. Ship for ship, the People’s Liberation Army Navy outnumbers the US Navy, and this disparity will only grow with time. This makes conventional naval power an unreliable means by which the US could deter or combat

Brian Kerg
Brian Kerg
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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