Perspectives Apart: Unveiling the Indo-Pacific Understanding of Irregular Warfare

The turn toward strategic competition, due to the increase in conflict outside the bounds of conventional war, has also pivoted security researchers and practitioners toward the idea of irregular warfare (IW). Though IW has been practiced and written on for centuries, the term is not conceptualized in similar fashion across the world—or even across the organizations constituting the U.S. government. Though a globally uniform idea of IW is not likely, and perhaps not even desirable, due to regional and historical differences in conflict experience, it is still critical for the Department of Defense (DoD) to understand how allies and partners conceptualize IW in order to engage them effectively. The Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) has worked to fill this gap with a series of regionally focused studies and follow-on workshops on the conceptualization of IW. The first study in the series focused on the European conceptualization of IW through engaging with PME institutions in the region. The second study followed the same methodology but turned to the Indo-Pacific region. The results of the second study show that, like Europe, countries in the Indo-Pacific conceptualize IW differently, requiring a nuanced understanding of these regional conceptualizations to engage partners and allies in the region effectively.

May 2024 Newsletter

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 download a PDF version of the IWC Spotlight Newsletter.

Religion and Foreign Subversion: The Russian Orthodox Church

From social media networks versus bot accounts, factual reporting and disinformation, online support groups and echo chambers, and grassroots movements and astroturfing, the modern information environment provides numerous tools to reach audiences that can be used for both innocuous and malign intent. However, the state of today’s information environment allows messages spread by even traditional sources of influence, including religious institutions and other trusted members of society, to flourish, reaching audiences far beyond what was feasible prior to technological advancement. This has allowed religious institutions to emerge as a powerful force in shaping narratives in the modern information environment, whether it is to build a resilient national identity or as a political tool for foreign influence.

Incorporating the Principles of Women, Peace and Security into Irregular Warfare

Women have been instrumental in shaping the outcomes of irregular wars and guerrilla campaigns, from the ancient Amazons of Greek mythology to the female soldiers in the resistance movements of World War II. Their roles have spanned continents and cultures, including the female soldiers of the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War, the Kurdish women fighters in the recent conflicts in the Middle East, and the women of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front. This enduring legacy amplifies the importance of recognizing and integrating women’s contributions in the context of modern irregular warfare. This rich tapestry of women’s involvement highlights the necessity for operationalizing the concepts of Department of Defense’s (DoD) Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Framework within the irregular warfare community of interest and reminds leaders and planners at all echelons — ignore women and their presence in the operational environment at your own peril.

Andor: An Irregular Warfare Story

The Disney+ series Andor—about Cassian Andor, a rebel fighting against the Galactic Empire—takes a dramatic detour from the usual Star Wars fare of lightsaber duels and epic spaceship battles. Instead, the show plunges viewers into the gritty underbelly of rebellion, exploring the birth of a resistance movement against the suffocating grip of the Empire. The show transcends mere space fantasy, offering a nuanced and captivating portrayal of the principles of irregular warfare and insurgency. 

Call For Papers: Second Annual Irregular Warfare Colloquium

Pursuant to its mandate to facilitate research on irregular warfare and strategic competition, and engage with U.S. and international universities, the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) is pleased to invite proposals for the second annual Irregular Warfare Colloquium, to be held in the Washington, DC, area on September 26-27, 2024. For more details and submission guidelines, please download the guidance document […]

Irregular Warfare Center & W.VA. National Guard sign Memorandum of Understanding

The West Virginia National Guard (WVNG) signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) during a Ridge Runner Irregular Warfare exercise at Camp Dawson, in Kingwood, West Virginia, April 19, 2024. Maj. Gen. Bill Crane, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard, and Dr. Dennis Walters, Director of the Irregular Warfare Center, signed the memorandum […]

April 2024 Newsletter

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The Center Hosts IWC Community of Interest Symposium & INDOPACOM IW Conceptualization Workshop

The Irregular Warfare Center (IWC) hosted its Irregular Warfare Center Community of Interest Symposium (IWCCOIS March 11-13, 2024) and INDOPACOM IW Conceptualization Workshop (March 14-15, 2024) events in Tyson’s Corner, Va. IWCCOIS gathered Irregular Warfare (IW) practitioners, industry leaders, and representatives from the interagency and academia to expand the IW-focused community of interest. The three-day symposium kicked off with a […]

March 2024 Newsletter

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