Irregular Warfare Podcast - Irregular Warfare Initiative

Latest Episodes:

Digital Irregular Warfare: Cyber at the Tactical Level May 20, 2022

Show notes

This episode explores how cyber tools and weapons are used at the tactical level within irregular warfare. Our guests, Dr. Trey Herr and Major Sally White, highlight some of the limitations of executing tactical cyber operations. They also provide insights into how information operations and cyber tools can be integrated together in the irregular warfare space for better utility and to influence target populations through both physical and digital effects. They conclude by noting that tactical cyber capabilities are still at the developmental stage and face constraints with authorities and legalities, and offer their takes on how to best utilize the domain for tactical irregular warfare operations.

Little Blue Men in the South China Sea: Unmasking China’s Maritime Militia May 06, 2022

Show notes

Since completing its terraforming and island reclamation projects in the Spratly Islands in 2016, the People’s Republic of China has shifted its emphasis to asserting dominance over the South China Sea. A key component of this pivot has been the expansion of China’s maritime militia—a force of vessels ostensibly engaged in commercial activity, but which in fact conducts operations in concert with Chinese law enforcement and military institutions to help the party-state achieve its military and political aims in the South China Sea’s disputed waters. Gregory B. Poling and Colonel Sean Berg join this episode to discuss China’s gray zone strategy in littoral Asia, and the role that the maritime militia plays in advancing China’s illegal sovereignty claims.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Digital Terrorists: Policy and Practice in the Online Counterterrorism Fight Apr 22, 2022

Show notes

In this episode, we consider how extremists of all types have exploited maneuver space online, and what this means for efforts to counter violent extremism today. To do so, we're joined by Nick Rasmussen, executive director of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, and Dr. Daniel Byman, professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service whose most recent book is Spreading Hate: The Global Rise of White Supremacist Terrorism. They discuss how the online environment has changed over the past fifteen years, creating opportunities for violent extremists and challenges for the stakeholders working to counter their efforts. They also describe both emerging and enduring threats facing the counterterrorism community, before considering how governments and civil society can work to identify, disrupt, and prevent violent extremism in ways that balance security, free expression, privacy, and trust.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Dynamite to Drones: The Diffusion of Lethal Technology to Terrorists and Insurgents Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

From dynamite in the early twentieth century to drones, bioweapons, and private-sector satellite constellations today, lethal technologies are increasingly available to nonstate actors and individuals. At a time when states are focused on competition and potential conflict between great powers, the decentralization of today’s low-end technologies could equip nonstate actors, private companies, and terrorists with unprecedented irregular and asymmetric capabilities. In this episode, Professor Audrey Kurth Cronin and Major General Patrick B. Roberson join to discuss the history of technological innovation, examples of current and burgeoning technologies that will impact future warfare, and how governments can (and sometimes cannot) regulate the development and distribution of potentially dangerous technologies to malign actors.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

COIN and Culture: How Important is Cultural Intelligence in Counterinsurgency? Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

It has become axiomatic that cultural intelligence is key to success in counterinsurgency operations. But is it? This episode examines this assumption, exploring whether the cultural training we receive in the military is indeed the linchpin to success—or a red herring, even a harmful distractor, in the absence of coherent strategy. Why does cultural awareness tend to be absent at the strategic level, and does this really matter? Our guests on this episode, Sir Simon Mayall and Dr. Christian Tripodi, discuss these questions and more, including what cultural awareness should mean in the context of counterinsurgency and, looking ahead, in the era of great power competition.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

The Motivations and Methods Behind Russian Hybrid Warfare Mar 11, 2022

Show notes

How do significant historical events and Russian cultural memory—especially those surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union—shape the Russian worldview? How do they motiviate Russia President Vladimir Putin? And what impact does that have on the way Russia employs hybrid warfare? In this episode, Shashank Joshi and Dr. Rob Person join to discuss these questions and more, including potential Western responses to an increasingly aggressive Russia. They conclude by exploring some of the implications for both the public and the practitioner.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Russia, China, and Iran: The Face of Competition in the Middle East Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

Russia, China, and Iran have all been learning how to conduct irregular warfare from the United States, modeling their approaches to IW on observations of recent US interventions in the world. This episode examines strategic competition with these three states—specifically how it plays out in the Middle East. Our guests, Dr. Seth Jones and Rear Admiral Mitch Bradley, discuss how all three of these US competitors have used irregular warfare to achieve a position of geopolitical advantage over the United States. They go on to propose a solution, one that employs irregular warfare as part of an integrated strategy of deterrence and that requires the United States to look beyond platforms and invest in education, talent management, and human capital.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

The Kill Chain: Why America Faces the Prospect of Defeat Feb 12, 2022

Show notes

A fundamental change in warfare is occurring, one that risks rendering the American way of war obsolete. As China uses technology to enhance the primacy of its kill chain, the United States has pursued a method of war that is platform-centric—and could prove dangerously outdated. Our guests on this episode, General David Berger and Christian Brose, discuss the radically different approach to warfighting the United States needs to avoid finding itself completely outmatched by China militarily—with devastating consequences for America’s place in the world and for the global norms which we now take for granted.

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Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Looking Back, Looking Forward: The Enduring Lessons of Security Force Assistance Jan 28, 2022

Show notes

What is the role of security force assistance in achieving national security objectives? Where did security force assistance work well in the post-9/11 era, and where was it unsuccessful? How did policy considerations differ from tactical implementation? And most importantly, how can research and experience from the past twenty years of war inform ongoing partner-building activities in a decidedly different Indo-Pacific theater? Retired Lieutenant General Larry Nicholson and Dr. Barbara Elias join this episode to tackle these questions and more.

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Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Anytime, Anyplace: Air Force Special Operations Command in Future Irregular Warfare Jan 14, 2022

Show notes

Irregular warfare is executed across all domains. In the air, the responsibility for IW falls to Air Force Special Operations Command. Today, the command stands at an inflection point in which it must prepare to compete against great powers while continuing the fight against violent extremist organizations. How must AFSOC change in order to meet divergent demands for specialized airpower? This episode featured a conversation with two guests who address that question: Lt. Gen. James C. Slife, commander of AFSOC, and Dr. Richard Norton, a retired Air Force officer and adjunct professor at the Joint Special Operations University.

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0