Irregular Warfare Podcast

Episode 111 examines the arguments against a United States Cyber Force. This episode is a two part series of Project Cyber that looks at the arguments for and against a Cyber Force.   Our guests share their backgrounds and the history of the U.S. Cyber Command. They express their skepticism towards forming a new cyber force, advocating instead for continued evolution within the current framework....

Episode 110 examines Illicit financing of violence in Sudan and Africa. Our guests begin by outlining definitions for licit and illicit networks in the context sponsoring proxies in and violence in Sudan. From there, they delve into how state actors use illicit networks to achieve objectives in competition. Finally, our guests offer insights to the complexities in competing with illicit networks t...

Episode 109 examines a recent report from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies on the arguments for a United States Cyber Force. This episode is a two part series of Project Cyber that looks at the arguments for and against a Cyber Force.   Our guests delve into their long-standing experiences with U.S. Cyber Command and detail the current challenges in cyber force readiness, recruitment, tra...

Episode 108 examines the use of unmanned aerial systems across the spectrum of conflict. This episode is part of IWI’s special project, Project Air and Space Power. Our guests explore the use of the full range of UAS technology by both state and nonstate actors. They unpack the democratization of air power through the proliferation of small unmanned systems and address the race to find cheaper cou...

Episode 107 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines how China uses its paramilitary and internal security forces to project power abroad and build global influence.   Our guests begin by dissecting the Chinese security apparatus: contrasting the People’s Liberation Army with the CCP’s internal police forces and paramilitaries. They then explore how China uses these nontraditional security forces...

Episode 106 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines how drones, robotics, and automation are changing the battlefield in Ukraine and how ARSOF has adapted.  Our guests begin by outlining the significance of robotics and autonomous systems on the Ukrainian battlefield. From there, they delve into how US Special Operations formations are learning from Ukraine and changing their own formations. Fin...

Episode 105 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast contrasts security force assistance (SFA) efforts in Ukraine and Afghanistan.   Our guests begin by outlining the significance of security force assistance and its pivotal role in Washington’s wider national security strategy. From there, they delve into a detailed analysis of SFA in both Afghanistan and Ukraine, extracting valuable lessons for policyma...

Episode 104 examines the role of intelligence professionals and agencies at the tactical and operational levels of irregular warfare while diving deeply into the links between US SOF and the CIA.  Our guests begin with an overview of the history of the CIA and the development in intelligence capabilities throughout the Global War on Terror, and then they discuss ways that intelligence professional...

Episode 103 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines the role that irregular conflicts played during the Cold War to inform today’s era of strategic competition.   Our guests begin by explaining how irregular conflicts and capabilities play a role in strategic competition, despite policy structures in Washington that often silo great power conflict from irregular warfare. They then discuss eviden...

Episode 102 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines how special operations forces can disrupt the strategic designs of Washington’s adversaries. Our guests begin with an in-depth discussion on civil-military relations, examining the relationship between SOL/IC and SOCOM. They then discuss the unique capabilities that special operations forces bring to the table, both during peacetime competition...

In today's episode, we delve into the topic of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of ex-combatants. Our guests explore the theoretical underpinnings of DDR, the motivations behind individuals joining armed groups, and effective strategies for reintegrating former combatants back into society.

In Episode 100 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast, we delve into the world of covert operations. Our guests begin by defining covert and clandestine operations, shedding light on their intricacies and historical significance. They then discuss the complexities of clandestine activities, and address the difficulties associated with translating irregular warfare and covert operations into tangible pol...

Episode 99 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast takes us to the final frontier as we examine irregular warfare in space.  Our guests begin by explaining the importance of the space domain in the private and public spheres. They then give us multiple frameworks for thinking about space by using more familiar, terrestrial-based concepts to enhance our understanding of space competition. Finally, our gue...

Episode 98 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast delves into resistance warfare—with a specific focus on stay behind operations.    Our guests begin by contrasting conventional conflict with resistance warfare. They then discuss the utility of stay behind operations by examining how small states can impose outsized costs on occupying powers. More specifically, they address how distributed resistance el...

Episode 97 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast focuses on a theory of armed politics as proposed by General Sir Nick Carter and Dr. Joe Felter. Our guests begin by describing the shifting landscape of the international order from the Cold War to today, and the resultant impact on alliances, partnerships, and competition across the globe.  General Carter proposes a theory that emphasizes the need for...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! How have the revolutionary roots of China’s military forces influenced Chinese military strategy? How has the doctrine of the People’s Liberation Army been influenced by global events, changes in the international system, and technological advanc...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! Nearly two years have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. In the lead-up to the war, European states largely agreed on the importance of supporting Russia, but disagreed about the optimal form—and scale—of that support. In many ways, the invasio...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! In the first installment of a three-part miniseries on irregular warfare in Israel, we turn our attention to Israel’s counterterrorism strategy. We begin by overviewing the phases of this strategy before discussing the adaptation of terrorist tac...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! For nearly two months, three powerful dynamics have converged in Gaza: lawfare, a humanitarian crisis, and urban combat. This episode examines those subjects and explores how they play out and influence one another in Gaza. Our hosts are joined b...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! When two adversaries confront one another militarily, they are rarely the only participants. Either side might delegate portions of its war efforts to proxies, for example. But there are a wide range of other roles that intermediaries also play....

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! In the first installment of a three-part miniseries on irregular warfare in Israel, Adam Darnley-Stuart speaks to Dr. Levi West, a renowned counterterrorism analyst, about the history and strategy of Hamas. Dr. West offers nuanced insights into H...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! What do the Cod Wars—a years-long series of confrontations between Iceland and the United Kingdom over North Atlantic fishing rights—and the operations of the marine conservation organization Sea Shepherd teach us about irregular warfare in the s...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is publishing! As the global information environment rapidly changes, revisionist states are increasingly enabled to wage information warfare. They leverage networked information systems to sow political chaos in target societies. But as states weaponize strate...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! Why do states engage in hostage taking to advance their interests? What incentives are in place that make them choose hostage taking over other, more traditional instruments of power? How do conventional international relations concepts like deter...

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! What are the fundamental tenets of China's political warfare? What does it look like when Beijing employs political warfare in the real world? And how is it different, in both theory and practice, from traditional Western conceptualizations of war...