Small Wars Journal

Putin’s behavior in his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began exactly four years ago – on February 24, 2022, seems irrational and resembles an obsession. Having launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine and suffered an initial setback, Putin has not abandoned a war that is causing enormous human losses, destroys the Russian economy and isolates Russia on the international scene. …
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The post Putin’s Obsession with Ukraine appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract United States Special Operations Forces (SOF) are increasingly evaluated through conventional readiness frameworks that degrade the human capital and relational capabilities essential to irregular competition. This article argues that military leaders must optimize SOF primarily for irregular competition by redefining readiness metrics, decoupling SOF employment from conventional readiness cycles, and institutionalizing disciplined mission selection—even at the cost of reduced …
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The post Redefining Readiness: Why US Special Operations Forces Must Be Optimized for Irregular Competition appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

  Senior Small Wars Journal–El Centro Fellow, Nathan P. Jones was featured at the History Channel this week.  Dr. Jones, who is also associates and professor chair of security studies at Sam Houston State University was interviewed on the 13 April 2025 episode of History’s Greatest Mysteries: Case Closed with Laurence Fishburne. The episode “The Hunt for El Chapo: Case …
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Directed-energy weapons have crossed from speculative concept into operational relevance, driven by the economics of modern conflict. As Malcolm Davis of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute makes clear in “War at the speed of light: the emerging role of directed-energy weapons,” high-energy lasers and high-power microwave systems compress the cost curve of air defense while accelerating engagement timelines to near-instantaneous …
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The post From Science Fiction to Force Structure: Directed Energy Is Here appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Exclusive | Europe Is Accelerating a NATO Fallback Plan in Case Trump Pulls Out 2. Exclusive | Europe Drafts Postwar Plan to Free Up Hormuz Without U.S. 3. Here’s What the U.S. Blockade of Iran Looks Like 4. Opinion | Trump’s Blockade Is a Crisis for Iran 5. Opinion | NPT Gives …
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The post 4/15/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies’ report, “The Widening Scope of Africa’s Militant Islamist Threat” (April 2026), shows that militant Islamist groups across Africa killed nearly 24,000 people in 2025—a 24 percent increase from the prior year—while generating 8,375 violent events, the highest number ever recorded on the continent. These numbers reflect a broad, sustained escalation across multiple operational environments …
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The post Africa’s Militant Islamist Threat: Near-Record Fatalities and an Expanding Operational Footprint in 2025 appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract: The United States Army is undergoing the Transformation in Contact initiative to prepare for large-scale combat operations against peer and near-peer threats. The Secretary of the Army has prioritized integrating Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) into every echelon of the force. It is imperative to immediately establish a United States Army Unmanned Systems Command (USAUSC), drawing on lessons from Ukraine’s …
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The post Transforming in Contact: The Army Needs an Unmanned Systems Command Now appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Introduction In December 2025, Acting US Ambassador to Pakistan Natalie Baker announced in a video message that Washington had approved $1.25 billion in financing from the US Export–Import Bank for Pakistan’s Reko Diq copper-gold project in the country’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan. Pakistani and US officials welcomed the decision, hoping the financing would unlock up to $2 billion in …
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The post Why Pakistan’s Once Little-Known Baloch Insurgency Now Matters in Washington appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

In an online event, author, Anand Gopal, will discuss his book: “Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution.” Fifteen years ago, in a northern Syrian city, a small group of men and women began a movement that overthrew a brutal dictatorship, carrying out one of the most remarkable experiments in democracy in modern times. …
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The post WEBINAR (04/16/26): Days of Love and Rage: A Story of Ordinary People Forging a Revolution appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

  Carlos Solar, Cybersecurity Governance in Latin America: States, Threats, and Alliances. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2023. [ISBN: 978-1438491400, Paperback, 352 pages] Dr. Carlos Solar’s Cybersecurity Governance in Latin America contributes to cyber research studies at a critical moment. Specific to Latin America, it is a topic that is underexplored in the broader security studies literature. Solar serves as …
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Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. What if Trump hadn’t attacked Iran? The answer should terrify you 2. When the war in Iran comes home: Why the US isn’t ready for increasing hybrid threats 3. China, Iran weaponized the global economy to beat the U.S. at its own game 4. A Ukrainian-Japanese $2,500 Drone Is About to …
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The post 4/13/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

An NBC News clip titled: “Anthropic says newest AI model is too powerful to release to public” reports on Anthropic’s recent decision to withhold its “Mythos” model.  We’ve distilled our own five takeaways: AI capability is crossing into strategic terrain Mythos demonstrates that frontier models can uncover systemic vulnerabilities at scale. This moves AI from productivity tool to national security …
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The post Anthropic’s Mythos: Our Takeaways appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

“The Impact of Synchronization vs. Scrutinization in TSOC Operations” (Special Warfare Journal, April 2026) Chief Warrant Officer 2 Greg Settle argues that theater special operations commands (TSOCs) have allowed excessive operational scrutiny to displace their primary function of synchronizing resources, actions, and objectives in support of campaign goals. Drawing on Joint Publication 3-0’s definition of synchronization as arranging actions in …
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The post Process Over Purpose: The Cost of Scrutinization in Theater Special Operations Commands appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF News HERE.   SOF Weekly Brief – April 13, 2026 April 13, 2026 SOF News Update 0 https://sof.news/update/20260413/ Curated news, analysis, and commentary on special operations, national security, and global conflicts. Executive Summary This weekly briefing summarizes developments in special operations forces (SOF), global conflicts, intelligence, and national security from the past week. The April 11, 2026 ceasefire conference in Islamabad, Pakistan concluded …
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Abstract The April 7 ceasefire follows extraordinary U.S.-Israeli-coalition military results but leaves the IRGC’s true center of gravity untouched: its commercial empire. This analysis argues that compelling the IRGC to accept the administration’s core terms requires economic pressure on that empire — specifically, Kharg Island’s oil export infrastructure, the mechanism through which 190,000 personnel are paid and the entire enterprise …
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The post Oil Revenues as the IRGC’s Center of Gravity: The Case for Strikes on Kharg appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract  This article examines an emerging U.S. “stability-first” approach through the lens of irregular warfare theory. Drawing on David Rapoport’s generational waves, Clausewitz’s concept of center of gravity, and Thomas Schelling’s coercive bargaining framework, it argues that Washington increasingly seeks to shape adversarial regimes rather than collapse them. Even where political rhetoric occasionally invokes regime change—most notably in the case …
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The post Structure, Agency, and the Stability Gamble: What Irregular Warfare Theory Reveals About U.S. Strategy appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Intro The convergence of rapid technological proliferation, economic globalization, and liquidity in democratic institutions has disaggregated key coercive capabilities of the state to subnational political agents and non-state actors. These groups can now achieve political objectives by exploiting the rapid feedback mechanisms of modern democratic societies through the targeted use of force designed to manipulate electoral outcomes. This is post-modern …
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The post Mind Games: How Disaggregated Power Is Reshaping Warfare appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Operation Epic Fury Update – 12 April 2026 2. Why Iran and Other Regimes Are So Hard to Break 3. Kryptonite to America’s Economic Super Powers: Chokepoints 4. Iran War News Live Updates: Trump Says U.S. Will Blockade of Strait of Hormuz 5. The U.S. Sank One of Iran’s Navies. The Other …
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The post 4/12/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF News HERE.   Operation Epic Fury Update – 12 April 2026 April 12, 2026 SOF News Middle East 0 https://sof.news/middle-east/epic-fury-update-20260412/ Update Summary of Operation Epic Fury (8-12 April 2026) Executive Summary An update on Operation Epic Fury – the Iran War: ten days left to the 2-week long ceasefire and talks are taking place in Islamabad, Israel attacks continue on Lebanon, U.S. …
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The post SOF News: Operation Epic Fury Update – 12 April 2026 appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Neurotechnologies—tools that can read and influence brain activity—are advancing rapidly and moving from medical settings into commercial and potential military use. Their dual-use nature creates significant opportunities as well as serious risks.  The latest United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDR) report, titled “Innovations Dialogue 2025: Neurotechnologies and their Implications for International Peace and Security,” outlines these growing opportunities and …
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The post Neurotechnology and the Transformation of War’s Human Domain appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.