Small Wars Journal

Dr. Hélène Tigroudja’s latest article at Just Security, “Mexico’s Enforced Disappearances: The U.N. Committee’s Unprecedented Article 34 Referral to the General Assembly,” details the United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances’ (CED) decision to refer Mexico’s disappearance crisis to the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA), invoking Article 34 of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances for …
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The post Cartel-State Collusion and the U.N.’s First-Ever Article 34 Referral appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF News HERE.   SOF Weekly Brief – April 20, 2026 April 20, 2026 SOF News Update 0 Curated news, analysis, and commentary on special operations, national security and defense, and global conflicts. Photo / Image: Marine Raiders assigned to U.S. Marine Forces Special Operations Command enter the water during joint maritime training as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in Sydney, Australia, …
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The post SOF News: SOF Weekly Brief – April 20, 2026 appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Introduction Western military thought often assumes that faster sensors and better data lead to faster action. In gray-zone competition, however, ambiguity over escalation thresholds creates a gap between recognition and authorization, allowing decisional authority to lag behind situational awareness. When that gap becomes predictable, hesitation itself transfers tempo to adversaries operating comfortably between peace and conflict.  The Ambiguous Encounter  Civilian vessels are historically treated …
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The post Weaponized Hesitation: Authority and Tempo in Gray-Zone Competition appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract This article details an experiment at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC) testing the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) agents, built on the Palantir Vantage platform, into Step 2 (Mission Analysis) of the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP). A traditional 14-student human staff was compared against a two-student AI-augmented team using specialized AI personas (Overall, IPOE, Combined, …
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The post Enhancing Mission Analysis: Integrating Artificial Intelligence Into the Military Decision-Making Process appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. The Seaside Town Trying to Reclaim Its Title as ‘Submarine Capital of the World’ 2. Iran’s Hard-Liners Flex Their Muscle With a U-Turn Over Hormuz 3. Exclusive | U.S. Military Prepares to Board Iran-Linked Ships in Coming Days, Officials Say 4. For Iran, Flexing Control Over Waterway Is New Deterrent 5. Iran …
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The post 4/19/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF News HERE. Epic Fury Update – 19 April 2026 April 19, 2026 SOF News Middle East 0 Top Photo: Littoral Combat Ship USS Canberra (LCS 30) in Persian Gulf, photo posted by US Central Command on X, 18 April 2026. Executive Summary The ceasefire talks a week ago did not yield an agreement; but some progress was made on some points. Another …
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The post SOF News: Epic Fury Update – 19 April 2026 appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Megan Garber offers an eye-opening look at how the current media landscape has incentivized us to see our fellow citizens as characters in an ongoing entertainment—and how we can fight back. The line between fact and fiction—between what’s real and what’s fabricated for entertainment—has never been more blurred. Screen People: How We Entertained Ourselves into a State of Emergency explores what happens …
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The post WEBINAR (04/22/2026): Screen People appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. As Economic Pressures Mount, Will Iran or the U.S. Blink First? 2. Trump Is Urged to Move on Nuclear Site Thought to Be Beyond Reach of Bombs 3. U.S. and Iran Signal Easing of Tensions 4. Trump’s Efforts to Strong-Arm Iran Into Deal Spark Optimism—and Confusion 5. Iran disputes claims of new …
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The post 4/18/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Speaker: Anuj Chopra Award-winning DC-based reporter for Agence France-Presse writing a book that profiles the kingdom through nine different characters from different sections of Saudi society, 2026 ASU Future Security Fellow at New America. WHEN: Tuesday, April 21, 12-1 pm ET/10-11 am AZ time. WHERE: Online REGISTER HERE

The post WEBINAR (04/21/2026): Saudi Arabia in the Age of Mohammed bin Salman appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

  On 17 March 2026, General Francis L. Donovan—the newly installed Commander of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM)—presented his first posture statement to the House Armed Services Committee, with a presentation to the Senate on 19 March. These posture statements, provided by each of the Combatant Commands to Congress annually, provide an opportunity for the military to layout their view of …
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The post Gunboats and Cartels: The Return of Force in the Americas appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. America’s Unsettled Grand Strategy 2. Trump’s widespread use of military goes far beyond Iran: ‘Death by a thousand cuts’ in terms of readiness 3. Cognitive Warfare: A Primer 4. Targeting Decisions: A Simpler Framework for Information Warfare 5. Administrative Terrain and the Operational Role of SOF in Modern Irregular Warfare 6. Starlink outage …
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The post 4/17/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The Global SOF Foundation (GSOF) is a nonprofit organization that connects special operations forces with government, industry, and policy leaders to strengthen global security cooperation and advance USSOF capabilities. GSOF has expanded into an international network designed to address unconventional and transnational threats by enabling collaboration and innovation across the SOF enterprise. Their recently published 2026 SOF Imperatives report centers …
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The post SOF Imperatives 2026: Why USSOCOM Needs a Budget Reset appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Check out this new report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, “How Russia Is Building a Sovereign Drone Ecosystem for AI-Driven Autonomy,” by Kateryna Bondar. The report takes a deep dive into how Russia builds military advantage by integrating AI into unmanned systems through a coordinated ecosystem that links state policy, civilian innovation, and battlefield lessons learned. Russia …
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The post CSIS Report | How Russia Is Building a Sovereign Drone Ecosystem for AI-Driven Autonomy appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Editors’ Note: This article is the fourth in a series of IWar transformation papers that adds supporting fires and expands lodgment in the information space. This article is intended to inform Small Wars Journal readers and contribute to an ongoing professional discussion on the Army’s transformative approach to information warfare. Abstract: The US military’s Psychological Operations (PSYOP) challenge is not …
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The post Targeting Decisions: A Simpler Framework for Information Warfare appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Introduction SOF does not administer governance. It operates where governance determines what is possible. That distinction matters. Operators encounter this terrain long before doctrine has language to describe it.  In modern irregular warfare, outcomes are increasingly decided before the first shot is fired. They are decided in regulatory frameworks, compliance regimes, and bureaucratic authority structures: the administrative terrain that shapes access, defines escalation thresholds, and determines who is authorized to act. SOF has …
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The post Administrative Terrain and the Operational Role of SOF in Modern Irregular Warfare appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

On April 10, the Department of War (DoW) put out a press release announcing a formal agreement between the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the DoW confirming the safe use of high-energy laser counter-drone systems along the southern border. The agreement introduces several key changes. First, a formal Safety Risk Assessment determined that these systems can operate without increasing risk …
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The post Integrating Counter-Drone Systems into the National Airspace appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Exclusive | Pentagon Approaches Automakers, Manufacturers to Boost Weapons Production 2. Iran’s Shadow Fleet Meets Its Match in U.S. Blockade 3. Counter-UAS Marketplace Streamlines Acquisition, First Purchases Total $13 Million 4. FAA and DOW Sign Landmark Safety Agreemen t to Protect Southern Border 5. Army names its first tiltrotor aircraft: Cheyenne II …
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The post 4/16/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

WASHINGTON – Iran is not the only country where the U.S. military engaged in conflict in the last few months. Just since the first strike on Tehran on Feb. 28, the U.S. has conducted 10 strikes in Somalia against militant groups, four strikes against vessels in Latin America and a bombing in Ecuador. And that doesn’t count ongoing missions and …
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The post Trump’s widespread use of military goes far beyond Iran: ‘Death by a thousand cuts’ in terms of readiness appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Throwback Thursday returns to the Special Operations Journal archives to revisit a foundational question that continues to shape modern conflict: what motivates individuals to fight for their country? In “Factors Affecting Willingness to Fight for One’s Own Country: The Case of Baltic States” (2018), Virgilijus Rutkauskas examines the social, political, and psychological drivers behind national resistance in the Baltics, offering …
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The post Throwback Thursday: The Will to Fight in Modern War appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Vanda Felbab-Brown, El Centro Fellow and Director of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors at the Brookings Institution, and Diana Paz García, Senior Research Assistant at the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology, examine the evolving crime-terrorism nexus in “How technology is transforming crime and terrorism.” The authors argue that emerging technologies are reshaping how nonstate armed actors …
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The post The New Battlespace: Cartels, Technology, and the Future of SOF in the Americas appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.