For both Ukrainians and Russians, the concept of partisan warfare is not new. Both countries have long histories of using irregular warfare to resist foreign invaders. As far back as the French invasion of Russia in 1812, Lieutenant Colonel Denis Davydov, who has been immortalized by Leo Tolstoy using him as the basis for the character Denisov in War and Peace, used guerilla warfare to stymie Napoleon’s advance.
In the ever-evolving landscape of irregular warfare, foreign governments recognize the potential of soft power as a means to wield influence, shape global perceptions, and conduct direct and indirect information operations. With a decrease in traditional conflicts and conventional war, the increasing importance of employing irregular warfare, characterized by non-traditional methods and asymmetric tactics, means that nations have recognized the importance of increasingly turning to investment, development, and control in the arena of entertainment as potent tools for projecting soft power and exerting influence both domestically and abroad.
Welcome to the monthly newsletter for the IWC. This newsletter is designed to keep our community up-to-date on the latest news and events happening within the organization. Please click here or on the image below to open the newsletter PDF:
As part of its ongoing efforts to help scholars and practitioners understand Russia’s approach to irregular warfare (IW), the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) translated a 33-page Russian special operations journal article, The Fundamentals of Partisan Warfare: Theory and Practice. The Russian article is now available for request on the IWC website. This Insights article is the first of a two-part series meant to introduce the Russian text and apply the concepts contained within to the current conflict in Ukraine.
The newly established Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) recently hosted two events including our first IW Medical Resiliency Wargame (Aug. 14-16, 2023) & IW Logistics Resiliency Working Group (Aug. 16-18, 2023) at the Henry Jackson Foundation in Bethesda, MD. The IW Medical Resiliency Wargames featured more than 50 medical professionals from across the Department of Defense (DoD), academia, and industry who […]
The Irregular Warfare Center is excited to announce that its IWC Research Grant Program is now live! Full details are in our listings on SAM.gov and Grants.gov, which outline a two-step application process. The first step is to submit a 500 word proposal to our grants mailbox: dsca.dscu.grants@mail.mil. Projects that pass initial review will be invited to submit a full proposal through the Grants.gov portal. We […]
The newly established Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) has teamed up with the West Virginia National Guard’s (WVNG) Ridge Runner program to exhibit at the National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) 145th General Conference & Exhibition from Aug. 18-21 in Reno, NV. The purpose of this joint exhibition is to provide attendees with an opportunity to learn more about […]
Welcome to the monthly newsletter for the IWC. This newsletter is designed to keep our community up-to-date on the latest news and events happening within the organization. Please click here or on the image below to open the newsletter PDF:
The Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) announces that the Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services / Acquisition Directorate, has issued a notice to obtain information to assist the Defense Security Cooperation Agency / IWC in providing research services. The purpose is to identify a pool of qualified organizations to perform academic research that will enable the IWC’s expansion in curriculum, event […]
The newly established Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) is scheduled to host our first IW Medical Resiliency Wargame (Aug. 14-16) & IW Logistics Resiliency Working Group (Aug. 16-18) in Bethesda, MD. “As the Center continues to grow and evolve, we want to ensure our partnerships, educational opportunities, resources and overall outreach continues to expand as well,” said Lori Leffler, IWC Deputy […]