
75 episodes

Irregular Warfare Podcast Modern War Institute at West Point
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4.8 • 304 Ratings
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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's Empirical Studies of Conflict Project.
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Deterrence through Asymmetry: Preparing for Conflict in the Taiwan Strait
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 America’s longstanding policy of strategic ambiguity regarding Taiwan? How effective has that strategy been and, more urgently, how effective is it likely to remain? How has the military balance of power in the Taiwan Strait shifted, and what coercive methods does Beijing have at its disposal to subjugate Taipei?
In this episode, our guests explore these questions and more in a discussion that considers the prospect of a cross-strait conflict between China and Taiwan and the asymmetric defensive capabilities that Taipei needs to stave off an invasion by the People’s Liberation Army. Michael Brown is a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and previously served as the director of the Defense Innovation Unit. And Professor Larry Diamond is the William L. Clayton senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, where he cochairs the programs on China’s Global Sharp Power and on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 -
War Transformed: How Emerging Technologies are Changing Human Conflict
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 changes, emerging technologies are influencing the direction—and the magnitude—of that change. But what can past technological revolutions teach us as we prepare for the new challenges combat leaders will face on the modern battlefield? In what specific ways will new technologies, from artificial intelligence to advanced cyber capabilities, affect militaries’ ability to mass combat power? And at the strategic and policy levels, what must leaders do to prepare forces for future, large-scale combat operations?
Ben Jebb and Adam Darnley-Stuart are joined on this episode by two guests who help explore these important questions. Lieutenant General Xavier T. Brunson is the commanding general of the US Army’s I Corps who has led US soldiers in multiple theaters around the globe. And Mick Ryan is a retired Australian Army major general who commanded soldiers at the platoon, regiment, task force, and brigade levels and is the author of the book War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First Century Great Power Competition and Conflict.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 -
Connecting the Dots: An Inside Look at the National Defense Strategy
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How does the National Defense Strategy distill guidance from the National Security Strategy down to the Pentagon? How does the US military operationalize the document’s guidance in practice? And how does the National Defense Strategy specifically shape the way the US armed services implement irregular warfare? We’re joined by two expert guests to address these questions and more. Dr. Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and has held senior positions across the US defense, national security, and foreign policy enterprise. Retired Brigadier General Chris Burns is a senior advisor to the Irregular Warfare Center who led US special operations units at multiple echelons during his thirty-six-year Army career. They share their insights in a fascinating discussion on this episode of the Irregular Warfare Podcast.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 -
Seizing the Digital Initiative: Zero Trust and Persistence in the Cyber Domain
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This episode explores the concepts of zero trust and persistence theory within the cyber domain and features a conversation with two guests: Mr. David McKeown serves as the acting DoD principal deputy chief information officer and Dr. Richard J. Harknett is professor and director of the School of Public and International Affairs and chair of the Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy at the University of Cincinnati.
In the discussion, they first define these two concepts—zero trust and persistance theory—before highlighting how they complement each other in practice. They continue by explaining the importance of seizing and maintaining the initiative in the cyber domain and how it would be more helpful to shift to a mindset of persistent campaigns and away from the idea of isolated cyberattacks. They conclude with thoughts on the implications for future cyber strategies.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 -
The Many Faces of Al-Shabaab
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Somalia’s security landscape is complex, making the challenge of understanding the terrorist group al-Shabaab especially challenging. The group uses intricate methods to maintain its foothold in East Africa, complicating both international and indigenous efforts to counter the threat it poses. To examine al-Shabaab and the critical contextual influences unique to Somalia, this episode features a conversation with two guests. Mary Harper is the Africa editor at BBC World Service News and author of Everything You Have Told Me is True: The Many Faces of Al Shabaab. Sam Wilkins is an Army Special Forces officer with operational experience in Somalia. Together, their insights and expert perspectives help to paint a picture of the Somalia-based terrorist organization and its effects on security and stability in the region.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 -
Misguided Citizens: India’s Approach to Counterinsurgency
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What lessons can be found in India’s experience with counterinsurgency? Are there elements of India’s philosophical approach to counterinsurgency and its tactical innovations that can be applied by the United States in expeditionary counterinsurgency operations? In this episode, we’re joined by Sumit Ganguly, distinguished professor of political science at Indiana University Bloomington, and Sajid Shapoo, a decorated senior Indian Police Service officer and PhD candidate at Princeton University. Together, they tackle these questions and more as they assess the Indian approach to counterinsurgency.
Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa
Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
Customer Reviews
Broaden the Aperture
Been listening since the beginning of the podcast and as much as I love the show, I had to bring up the myopic focus in the security cooperation. In an almost hour long show about the security cooperation enterprise the role of the State Department was a only mentioned twice, once about Secretary Blinken and the other about Defense Attachés. Maybe have a companion episode with experts from State’s PM Bureau or even DSCA about the foreign policy work that goes into the Title 22 security cooperation programs you referenced in the latest episode.
Again, love the show, but irregular (political) warfare doesn’t just live in the Pentagon.
Outstanding. Free grad school/professional military education.
I can’t say enough about how valuable this podcast is. I would call it a free, ongoing graduate-level course (or professional military education course), featuring the leading minds and practitioners in the field. Modern War Institute is achieving its mission of bringing academia and the practicing national security community together for everyone’s shared education and benefit.
Afghanistan
Very disappointed that there was NOT one mention of Doha Agreement. Afghanistan could never have been won. Corruption. Tribal politics. Try to be objective when discussing the fall of the country last year. Carter’s thoughts were interesting. It’s amazing to me how many military history books our officers read at Leavenworth and Carlyle and Newport. They could just have read Bright Shining Lie by Sheehan; we forgot all the lessons from Vietnam in Afghanistan. Waste of lives and trillions of dollars. We never learn our lessons.