Articles
Our articles cut through the noise on irregular warfare to connect strategic theory to operational reality and translate complexity into insight for practitioners and policymakers. No time to read? Check out our podcast, "Insider: Short of War," which transforms our articles into concise, engaging audio pieces you can listen to anywhere. Available directly in most of our articles and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major platforms.
Beyond Kinetic Dominance: “Cognitive Coherence” in Irregular Warfare
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. In August 2021, Afghan National Security Forces collapsed in a mere eleven days following the withdrawal of the United States military. Two decades of training and advising ended without resistance before a materially
Defense Industrial Mobilization Needs More Than Startups and Drones
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. The wars of the 2020s have generated a powerful narrative about the future of defense industrial policy. Cheap drones, agile startups, venture-backed innovation, and commercial technology adapted for military use now dominate
To Disrupt Russia’s Shadow War, Follow the Money
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Just before eight o’clock on a September evening in 2021, two men opened a conversation on Telegram about how to kidnap a Russian fugitive. One, Orlin Roussev, was a Bulgarian information technology
Ukraine’s Drone Diplomacy: Turning Battlefield Expertise into Strategic Leverage
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, much of the international narrative centered around the extensive aid flowing towards Kyiv from Europe and the United States: the air defense systems, artillery, financial
25th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, the central question is deceptively simple: Is al-Qaeda—and the Salafi-Jihadi terrorist movement it spawned—still a threat we need to worry about? Every
Before Rogers' Rangers: Legitimacy, Partnership, and the Limits of External Sponsorship
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. In June 1752, a war party of roughly two hundred and fifty Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribal warriors led by the French-Canadian Charles de Langlade descended on the town of Pickawillany. This
Mind the Gap: Asymmetric Maritime Warfare in Southeast Asian Chokepoints
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. Armed men jumped off a helicopter to capture the Galaxy Leader. The Houthis took control of the ship in November 2023 as part of their campaign against Israel that eventually evolved to sinking
Cornered, Not Conquered: Turkish Intelligence and the End of the PKK Insurgency
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. In May 2025, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced it would dissolve and lay down its arms, closing an insurgency that had cost Türkiye on the order of forty thousand lives. The timing
Russian Psychological Operations and Informational Warfare in the Middle East and North Africa
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. The speed of Ukrainian counter-messaging and will to fight has rendered Russian psychological operations in Ukraine ineffective. However, throughout the Middle East, Russia has successfully used information operations to frame the Israel-
Terrorism After Ideology
Editor's note: The "Short of War" Podcast discussing this article is AI-generated. On April 29, two Jewish men were stabbed in north London in what British police declared a terrorist incident. Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), an "Islamic resistance" group that
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