Blog•Mar 6, 2026
The Strategic Logic of Large Militant Alliance Networks
Episode 148 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast examines why militant groups form large alliance networks, drawing on research by Chris Blair and Phillip Potter. The authors argue that alliances are less about signaling strength and more about compensating for organizational weaknesses, as illustrated by al‑Qaeda’s post‑9/11 expansion and ISIS’s quest for ideological credibility. The discussion also highlights how understanding these network dynamics can inform strategies to disrupt militant coalitions, especially as attention shifts toward great‑power competition. The episode bridges academic insights with practical counterterrorism implications.
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Mar 6, 2026
Precision-Guided Predictions: Intelligence Risk in Prediction Markets
The article warns that prediction markets such as Polymarket are becoming real‑time sensors for classified military intent, citing the 2024 Maduro removal bet, a 2026 Israeli insider‑trading indictment, and the failed DARPA Policy Analysis Market. It explains how contract spikes...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Mar 3, 2026
Geoeconomics of Irregular Warfare: Iran and the Global Ripple Effects
The Irregular Warfare Initiative hosted a roundtable to dissect Iran’s deepening economic crisis amid heightened sanctions and shifting U.S. policy. Panelists argued that Tehran’s shrinking GDP and faltering proxy network signal a historic inflection point rather than a routine flare‑up....
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 20, 2026
State-Actor Cyber Catastrophes: $40bn over 26 Years
A new article in the Journal of Strategic Competition, “Rewriting History: Understanding Historical Catastrophic Cyber Economic Losses,” introduces the first systematic database of cyber‑related economic disasters. It catalogs 24 events from 1998 onward, estimating a cumulative $40 bn loss over 26...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 20, 2026
Preserving the American Edge: Revitalizing the Defense Industrial Base
Episode 147 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast argues that America’s defense industrial base has been the engine of military advantage from Roosevelt’s World War II mobilization to Cold‑War stealth breakthroughs. The hosts warn that China’s rapid expansion of defense manufacturing is...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 19, 2026
The Waiting Game: Signposts of Russia’s Coming Failure in Africa
Russia’s Africa Corps, successor to the Wagner Group, now fields troops in six African states, leveraging disinformation and security contracts to replace waning Western influence. The exodus of French, EU and U.S. forces from the Sahel and West Africa has...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 17, 2026
China’s Digital Yuan and the Fight for Southeast Asia’s Financial Infrastructure
China is accelerating the rollout of its interest‑bearing digital yuan (e‑CNY) across Southeast Asia, launching cross‑border pilots such as the China‑Laos settlement system and expanding access through commercial banks. The People’s Bank of China’s new management framework aims to turn...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 12, 2026
What I Learned From Being a Planner in an Advisory Command: Reflections From the Security Assistance Group – Ukraine
Lieutenant Colonel Benjamin Stumpf recounts a six‑month stint with the Security Assistance Group‑Ukraine, where planners had to adapt traditional military decision‑making to a three‑actor environment involving the U.S., Ukrainian partners, and Russian adversaries. Lacking direct command over Ukrainian forces, the...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 11, 2026
The Colombia Case Study: Legitimacy, Naming, and Irregular Warfare
The article uses Colombia’s five‑decade conflict to illustrate how U.S. influence operations evolve through three overlapping phases of irregular warfare: active insurgency, negotiated political transition, and post‑settlement fragmentation. During the insurgency, clear naming of the FARC enabled direct narrative attacks,...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 10, 2026
Drone Warfare in Ukraine: Myths and Reality
The Irregular Warfare Initiative’s latest podcast dissects how Ukraine transformed civilian drones into a cornerstone of its warfighting arsenal. From ad‑hoc reconnaissance tools in 2022 to dedicated FPV strike units by 2023, the Ukrainian military now fields drones at a...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 6, 2026
Competitive Intervention, Proxy War, and Military Assistance: Anderson, Eyre, and Kuhlman
Episode 146 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores how external military assistance reshapes civil wars. The hosts and guests highlight that 75% of post‑World War II civil conflicts have received foreign aid, with weapons transfers being the most common form. Competitive...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 3, 2026
American Samoa Is America’s Strategic Hub in the South Pacific
American Samoa hosts Pago Pago, the United States' sole deep‑water port in the South Pacific, a legacy of a 125‑year‑old naval agreement. The island now faces heightened Chinese activity, including illegal fishing fleets labeled a "maritime militia" and growing narcotics...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 3, 2026
Schrödinger’s Security Partner: The Paradox of Measuring Security Force Assistance
The blog argues that U.S. security force assistance (SFA) suffers from a measurement paradox: quantitative metrics collapse complex partner dynamics into misleading snapshots, prompting advisors to teach to the test and partners to perform for reports. This distortion, likened to...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Feb 2, 2026
Emerging Technology and Irregular Warfare: Launching a New Focus Area
The Irregular Warfare Initiative has launched an Emerging Technology and Irregular Warfare Focus Area to confront the rapid infusion of AI, autonomous systems, cyber tools, biotech, and other innovations into gray‑zone conflicts. The effort highlights the widening gap between fast‑moving...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast
Blog•Jan 29, 2026
The Role of Foreign Fighters in a Taiwan Resistance Scenario
The article examines how Taiwan might incorporate foreign volunteers into a resistance movement if China occupies the island, drawing lessons from Ukraine’s International Legion. It outlines potential recruitment channels, infiltration routes, and integration challenges within Taiwan’s “porcupine strategy” of asymmetric...
By Irregular Warfare Podcast