The Future of Conflict and Special Operations Forces
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Since 9/11, Special Operations Forces (SOF) have often been cast as the United States’ sharpest instrument: they hunt high-value targets, train partners, and operate at the seams where conventional forces cannot
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Podcasts
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Five Years After the Withdrawal: Insights from the Afghanistan War Commission
Ahead of the fifth anniversary of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, Dr. Colin Jackson and Colonel (Ret.) E.J. Degen join us to discuss initial insights from the Afghanistan War Commission’s work. In particular, the episode examines insights from Afghanistan for building partner armies.
Innovation Under Fire: What WWII’s Commandos Teach Us About War and the Future of Special Operations
Description Episode 160 examines the origins of Britain’s World War II commandos and the enduring role of special operations forces from Churchill’s era to today. Summary This episode explores the creation of Britain’s legendary commando force following the military disasters of 1940. Author Monty Halls and retired
From NATO to the Gulf: Allies, Access, and the Hidden Architecture of American Power
Description Episode 159 examines the relationship between alliances, military access, and U.S. global power projection. Summary This episode explores an often overlooked benefit of alliances: wartime access. Dr. Rachel Metz and Ambassador Douglas Lute explain why public debates about allies often focus narrowly on defense spending, while missing the
Events
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Geoeconomics of Irregular Warfare: Iran and the Global Ripple Effects — Part X
In Part Ten of Irregular Warfare Initiative’s special series on the conflict with Iran, presented by the Economic & Legal Warfare Team, Ioannis (Gianni) Koskinas (CEO, Hoplite Group), Matt Flug (Director, Economic & Legal Warfare Focus Area, IWI), and Richard Y. Newton III, Lt General, USAF (Ret), Founding Partner,
Maritime Autonomous Systems Featuring Ukraine's SBU — Center on IW and Armed Groups 2026 Symposium
Co-director of IWI’s Maritime Program, Christopher Booth chaired a panel of guests invited by IWI as part of the Naval War College’s Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups (CIWAG) 2026 Symposium – as supported by the Naval War College Foundation - to discuss autonomous maritime vessels.
Geoeconomics of Irregular Warfare: Iran and the Global Ripple Effects — Part IX
In Part Nine of Irregular Warfare Initiative’s special series on the conflict with Iran, presented by the Economic & Legal Warfare Team, Hamlet Yousef (IWI Economic & Legal Warfare Advisor), Matt Flug (Co-Director, Economic & Legal Warfare Project, IWI), Tom Johansmeyer (Co-Director, Economic & Legal Warfare Project,
Articles
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Assessing Special Operations Forces (SOF) 2040 (Part 1): The Operator Is the Platform
Editor’s Note: this article is being republished with the permission of Small Wars Journal as part of a republishing arrangement between IWI and SWJ. The original article was published July 13, 2026 and is available here. Series Introduction This is the first installment in a four-part series examining
What Makes a Weapon Too Horrific to Use?
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Rules governing warfare are nearly as ancient as warfare itself. In the Iliad, Achilles loses favor with the gods and invites his own destruction by abusing Hector’s corpse. In 1139, the Second
Floating Liabilities: Aircraft Carriers in the Age of Precision Strike and Irregular Warfare
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. In mid-March 2026, satellite imagery confirmed what many defense analysts had long feared: the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike groups had quietly abandoned their forward offensive positions
Thin Margins, Strategic Effects: Irregular Warfare and Contested Logistics in the Arctic
Alaska’s concentrated logistics are vulnerable to below-threshold irregular warfare from Russia and China. Building civil-military resilience and dispersing supply capacity can secure Arctic deterrence before a crisis hits.
Kurdish Underground Resistance and Civil Disobedience Against the Iranian Security State
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. When the Iranian security state unleashed its typical playbook of repressive policing and internet blackouts in early 2026, the Islamic Republic aimed to asphyxiate the uprising. To the contrary, IWI interviews from Iraqi
Gray Zone Contestation Between North and South Korea in the Yellow Sea
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. While global chaos mounts with lingering conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s war in Ukraine, and shifting U.S. strategic priorities, the risk is not only escalation in active theaters but opportunism
Information Disorder and Irregular Warfare: Three Things to Know
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. When U.S. and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, 2026, a parallel war began online. This battle is being fought not with bombs or drones, but with deepfakes and
Ordinary Crime, Hybrid Threat, or Irregular Warfare?
Adversaries target PEMSII domains through coordinated hybrid campaigns, yet the UK legal system risks fragmenting this conduct into isolated offenses. This analysis shows why coherent framing is a vital strategic capability for national resilience.
Bridging the gap between irregular warfare scholars, practitioners, and policymakers.
