Maritime

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

Ethics, Integrity, and the Toll of Modern Irregular Warfare: A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Dave Philipps
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth Walker Mills

Ethics, Integrity, and the Toll of Modern Irregular Warfare: A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Dave Philipps

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 project. Please send submissions with the subject line “Project

Christopher BoothWalker Mills
Multiple authors
Autonomous Ghosts are Reshaping Irregular Warfare and Maritime Security
Articles Maritime Laurel Baker

Autonomous Ghosts are Reshaping Irregular Warfare and Maritime Security

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 project. Please send submissions with the subject line “Project Maritime Submission” and

Laurel Baker
Laurel Baker
Irregular Warfare at Sea: Using Privateers To Seize Chinese Commerce
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth

Irregular Warfare at Sea: Using Privateers To Seize Chinese Commerce

Editor’s Note I: This article is part of IWI’s Project Maritime, a series exploring the intersection of irregular warfare and the modern maritime dimension. Focusing on current events and their underlying geographical and historical patterns, we aim to contextualize the drivers of conflict in the maritime domain and

Christopher Booth
Christopher Booth
Sailing through the spyglass: The strategic advantages of Blue OSINT, ubiquitous sensor networks, and deception
Articles Maritime Guido L Torres

Sailing through the spyglass: The strategic advantages of Blue OSINT, ubiquitous sensor networks, and deception

In this insightful article published by the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, IWI Executive Director Guido Torres and co-author Austin Gray explore the revolutionary impact of Blue Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) on maritime security. "Sailing Through the Spyglass" delves into how advancements in ubiquitous

Guido L Torres
Guido L Torres
Under the Radar: Weaponizing Maritime Transponders in Strategic Competition
Articles Maritime Umar Ahmed Badami

Under the Radar: Weaponizing Maritime Transponders in Strategic Competition

Throughout the summer and fall of 2023, People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and China Coast Guard (CCG) vessels have repeatedly blockaded Filipino shoals and naval outposts in the South China Sea, restricting freedom of movement and preventing resupply efforts. The CCG continues to employ water cannons, lasers, and floating

Umar Ahmed Badami
Umar Ahmed Badami
The Maritime Dimension to the Conflict in Israel
Articles Maritime Walker Mills

The Maritime Dimension to the Conflict in Israel

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 project. Please send submissions to submissions@irregularwarfare.org with

Walker Mills
Walker D. Mills
Irregular Warfare at Sea: The Cod Wars and Sea Shepherd
Podcasts Maritime Ben Jebb Lisa McKinnon Munde

Irregular Warfare at Sea: The Cod Wars and Sea Shepherd

This week’s episode of the Irregular Warfare Podcast features our Maritime Irregular Warfare (IW) Special Project by examining two case studies of IW at sea. Our guests begin by discussing the Cod Wars, which was a protracted maritime conflict between Iceland and the United Kingdom. They then explore how

Ben JebbLisa McKinnon Munde
Multiple authors
Black Swans, Black Jellyfish, and Black Elephants: IWI's Project Maritime Director on Challenges in the Modern Maritime Dimension (Partnered with Marine Corps University Krulak Center's #BruteCast)
Events Maritime Lisa McKinnon Munde

Black Swans, Black Jellyfish, and Black Elephants: IWI's Project Maritime Director on Challenges in the Modern Maritime Dimension (Partnered with Marine Corps University Krulak Center's #BruteCast)

What risks do we accept and what opportunities do we miss by not opening our aperture to the maritime environment? What security challenges do we face? As the Marine Corps continues our pivot to the Pacific, how do we need to think about the Sea beyond "It's

Lisa McKinnon Munde
Lisa Munde
Lessons in Maritime Insurgency from the Mukti Bahini Freedom Fighters of 1971
Articles Maritime Christopher Booth

Lessons in Maritime Insurgency from the Mukti Bahini Freedom Fighters of 1971

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 project. Please send submissions to submissions@irregularwarfare.org with

Christopher Booth
Christopher Booth
Solving for the Missing Element of Maritime Campaigning
Articles Maritime Kevin Bilms

Solving for the Missing Element of Maritime Campaigning

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 project. Please send submissions to submissions@irregularwarfare.org with

Kevin Bilms
Kevin Bilms
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