Podcasts · Government

Irregular Warfare Podcast

Irregular Warfare Initiative

169 episodes

The Irregular Warfare Podcast explores an important component of war throughout history. Small wars, drone strikes, special operations forces, counterterrorism, proxies—this podcast covers the full range of topics related to irregular war and features in-depth conversations with guests from the military, academia, and the policy community. The podcast is a collaboration between the Modern War Institute at West Point and Princeton University’s Empirical Studies of Conflict Project.

Episodes page 2 of 4

  1. Sneaky Wars in the Indo-Pacific

    · 52 min · Episode 119

    Episode 119 discusses irregular warfare in the Indo-Pacific with Dr. Sean McFate, and COL Ed Croot. Our guests discuss the evolving landscape of irregular warfare. They critique the conventional vs. irregular warfare…

  2. SOF’s Role in Conflict

    · 51 min · Episode 118

    Episode 118 focuses on SOF in Conflict. The podcast falls within the SOF Special Project. Contact Director SOF Adam Darnley-Stuart to join the team. Episode 118 of the Irregular Warfare podcast explores the…

  3. Adapting to the Unpredictable: Climate’s Impact on Irregular Warfare

    · 52 min · Episode 117

    Episode 117 examines the intersection of climate change, national security, and irregular warfare, with a particular focus on how environmental changes are reshaping global security challenges from the Arctic to the…

  4. SOF and Influence Activities

    · 45 min · Episode 116

    Episode 116 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast explores the role of Special Operations Forces (SOF) in influence activities, featuring insights from Professor Martijn Kitson and Major General Ron Smits. The guests…

  5. The Stability Instability Paradox: How Nuclear Weapons Incentivize Irregular Warfare

    · 54 min · Episode 115

    Disclaimer: Episode 115 is a re-release of our original Episode 96, which explored the 1999 Kargil Conflict and its implications for irregular warfare in South Asia. Due to an unfortunate data corruption issue with our…

  6. DIU: Silicon Valley Meets the Modern Battlefield

    · 45 min · Episode 114

    Episode 114 examines the formation of the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and its mission to integrate Silicon Valley technology within the Department of Defense innovation sphere. The guests are the co-authors of Unit…

  7. Afghanistan Three Years Later: Alliances and Rivalries

    · 56 min · Episode 113

    Episode 113 examines the challenges presented by the Islamic State Khorasan (ISK) in Afghanistan within the context of the three-year anniversary of U.S. withdrawal from the region. Our guests share their extensive…

  8. SOF in Competition - Special Project

    · 52 min · Episode 112

    Episode 112 is the launch podcast for the SOF in Competition Special Project. The Irregular Warfare Initiative proudly announces the SOF in Competition Project. The intent is to coalesce the community of SOF policy…

  9. Do we need a Cyber Force? Part 2: Arguments Against a Seventh Service

    · 51 min · Episode 111

    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…

  10. Illicit Financing of Violence in Sudan

    · 44 min · Episode 110

    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,…

  11. Do we need a Cyber Force? Part 1: Arguments for a Seventh Service

    · 44 min · Episode 109

    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…

  12. Drones are Here to Stay: The Proliferation of Unmanned Aerial Systems Across the Spectrum of War

    · 1 h 00 min · Episode 108

    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…

  13. Paramilitaries Abroad: China’s Use of Nontraditional Security Forces

    · 54 min · Episode 107

    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…

  14. Drones, Automation, and how ARSOF is Adapting

    · 51 min · Episode 106

    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…

  15. Lessons from the Eastern Front: Security Force Assistance in Ukraine

    · 54 min · Episode 105

    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…

  16. Insiders, Outsiders and Enablers: Intelligence Support to Irregular Warfare

    · 59 min · Episode 104

    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…

  17. Cold War Lessons for a New Era: Connecting IW and Great Power Competition

    · 51 min · Episode 103

    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…

  18. Strategic Disruption by Special Operations Forces

    · 52 min · Episode 102

    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…

  19. Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants

    · 56 min · Episode 101

    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…

  20. Secret Wars: Covert Action and Irregular Warfare

    · 55 min · Episode 100

    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…

  21. The Fight for the Final Frontier: Irregular Warfare in Space

    · 53 min · Episode 99

    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.…

  22. Stay Behind Operations

    · 46 min · Episode 98

    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…

  23. Armed Politics

    · 52 min · Episode 97

    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…

  24. Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy Since 1949

    · 51 min

    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…

  25. The Defense of Europe: The Trans-Atlantic Relationship after Two Years of War

    · 49 min

    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…

  26. Fighting for Survival: Israel’s Counterterrorism Strategy

    · 29 min

    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…

  27. IW Lessons from Gaza: Lawfare, Humanitarian Crises, and Urban Combat

    · 53 min

    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…

  28. Dealers and Brokers in Proxy Wars: Exploring All Means Available

    · 58 min

    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…

  29. Taking the Long View on Hamas

    · 32 min

    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…

  30. Irregular Warfare at Sea: The Cod Wars and Sea Shepherd

    · 52 min

    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…

  31. Subversion: The Strategic Weaponization of Narratives

    · 55 min

    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,…

  32. The Prisoner’s Dilemma: Hostage Diplomacy 101

    · 46 min

    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…

  33. Gray Zone: China’s Political Warfare

    · 51 min

    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?…

  34. Inside the US-China Tech War

    · 41 min

    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! Relations between the United States and China are characterized…

  35. Who’s Watching the Watchmen? Congressional Oversight of Irregular Warfare

    · 52 min

    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! Irregular warfare, by its nature, includes activities that…

  36. Hindsight and Foresight: A Twenty-Year Retrospective on Irregular Warfare and Counterinsurgency

    · 54 min

    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! In what ways do irregular warfare and counterinsurgency overlap?…

  37. The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance

    · 50 min

    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 happens when authoritarianism expands into online…

  38. Treating or Feeding the Disease? Elite Capture of the Security Sector

    · 53 min

    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 does it mean when a state’s security sector undergoes what…

  39. Proxy Warfare, Theory and Practice

    · 52 min

    Why do states engage in proxy warfare? How does what scholars call principal-agent theory explain the way proxy warfare actually plays out—particularly the challenges that arise when the interests of a principal and a…

  40. Securing the Cyber Domain: Exploring Cyber Policy in the Department of Defense

    · 55 min

    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! Is it possible to deter adversaries in the cyber domain—and if…

  41. Operation Inherent Resolve: The Merits—and Pitfalls—of Fighting “By, With, and Through” a Partner Force

    · 43 min

    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! When the US military set out to combat ISIS in Iraq in the…

  42. Gray Zone—The Alliance is the Message

    · 55 min

    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! In the blurred spaces between peace and war, a contest over…

  43. The Cyber-SOF-Space Triad and the Future of Army Special Operations

    · 54 min

    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! For nearly two decades of constant operations during America’s…

  44. The Digital Bear in Ukraine: Russian Cyber Operations Since 2014

    · 55 min

    Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative's new website to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! How much of a role have cyber warfare and digital…

  45. The Terrorist’s Dilemma: How Nonstate Actors Manage Covert Organizations

    · 59 min

    Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative's new website, www.irregularwarfare.org, to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! It’s been described as the…

  46. Deterrence through Asymmetry: Preparing for Conflict in the Taiwan Strait

    · 47 min

    Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative's new website, www.irregularwarfare.org, to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! What are the origins of…

  47. War Transformed: How Emerging Technologies are Changing Human Conflict

    · 46 min

    Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative's new website, www.irregularwarfare.org, to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing! As the character of warfare…

  48. Connecting the Dots: An Inside Look at the National Defense Strategy

    · 53 min

    Subscribe to the IWI monthly newsletter by going to www.irregularwarfare.org! How does the National Defense Strategy distill guidance from the National Security Strategy down to the Pentagon? How does the US military…

  49. Seizing the Digital Initiative: Zero Trust and Persistence in the Cyber Domain

    · 49 min

    Subscribe to the IWI monthly newsletter by going to www.irregularwarfare.org! This episode explores the concepts of zero trust and persistence theory within the cyber domain and features a conversation with two…

  50. The Many Faces of Al-Shabaab

    · 48 min

    Subscribe to the IWI monthly newsletter by going to www.irregularwarfare.org! Somalia’s security landscape is complex, making the challenge of understanding the terrorist group al-Shabaab especially challenging. The…

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