Small Wars Journal

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) published a report in late April analyzing the status of U.S. munitions inventories following the 39-day air campaign against Iran. “Last Rounds? Status of Key Munitions at the Iran War Ceasefire” concludes that U.S. missile expenditure won’t constrain current operations, but significantly weakens preparedness for future wars. The New York Times and …
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The post Part 1: The U.S. Munitions Problem appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Legos at War: Iranian Information Operations 2. Is Ukraine Winning Without U.S. Help? 3. The next Army chief won’t inherit a force, he’ll inherit an argument 4. General James Van Fleet: Lessons for Modern Special Operations Soldiers 5. Top Pentagon tech officials optimistic Mythos-style AI tools will …
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The post 5/11/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point’s recent report,  “Developments in the Sahel: An Interview with Wassim Nasr” presents journalist and Soufan Center fellow Wassim Nasr’s analysis of the late April 2026 JNIM-FLA joint offensive in Mali and its regional consequences. JNIM and the Azawad Liberation Front executed a coordinated nationwide offensive on April 25, recaptured Kidal, and killed Malian …
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The post JNIM’s Mali Offensive and the Limits of Counterterrorism in the Sahel appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access SOF News HERE.   SOF Weekly Update – May 11, 2026 May 11, 2026 John Friberg Update 0 https://sof.news/update/20260511/ Curated news, analysis, and commentary on special operations, intelligence, irregular warfare, national defense, and global conflicts. Photo / Image: The guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG 90) launches a Block V Tomahawk. (U.S. Navy photo by Ensign Sean Ianno, 30 Nov 2020). Executive Summary …
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Abstract   The Iranian regime has displayed an increasingly active information operations campaign in response to US military operations. Its widespread and apparently effective online messaging in particular suggests a government that is becoming adept in the information environment.  Introduction Those of a certain age will remember that the predominant information operations (IO) efforts of Iran in the past consisted largely in having mass crowds chanting “Death to America” and ineffectual governmental condemnations of US activities. It seems to …
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The post Legos at War: Iranian Information Operations appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Contemporary warfare increasingly operates through the delegation of violence to non-state proxies, transforming insurgent networks into functional extensions of state strategy. In this configuration, “small wars” function as technologies of indirect confrontation through which major powers manage geopolitical competition via expendable intermediaries. From a Foucauldian biopolitical perspective, this dynamic reflects a shift in state rationality: governance no longer centers solely on …
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The post Delegated Violence: Jihadist Organizations and the Strategic Logic of Small Wars appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. He Offered a Lawmaker’s Aide Quick Cash. Was He Spying for China? 2. Israel Built and Defended a Secret Iran War Base in Iraq 3. Secret US Special Operations ship MV Ocean Trader arrives at Diego Garcia within reach of Iran 4. The Real Cost of Withdrawing U.S. Troops From Germany …
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The post 5/10/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Views of America by Secretary Marco Rubio 2. The Last Undefended Perimeter 3. The U.S. and China Have a Common Foe. Hint: It’s Not the U.S.S.R. 4. Muted U.S. Response to Iranian Attacks Deepens Gulf Fears About Cease-Fire 5. Iran Tests Trump’s Will to Fight (WSJ Editorial Board) 6. Trump Reversed Hormuz Plan …
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The post 5/9/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Can China Stop Its Demographic Slide? Can the United States?  RAND l Apr 23, 2026 China faces a problem that could strain its government, undermine its security, and sap its economic energy. It isn’t having enough babies. That may seem like an advantage for the United States, China’s main rival. But fertility rates are slipping here, too. Researchers at RAND have …
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The post Can China Stop Its Demographic Slide? Can the United States? appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. Niall Ferguson: The Iran Stalemate 2. Inside the Digital Intifada 3. Propaganda war: The Gen Z team behind Iran’s hit anti-Trump videos 4. A Battle of Wits, Not Metal: How Irregular Warfare is Preempting Convergence in the Indo-Pacific 5. How America’s Adversaries Learned to Weaponize Reality 6. America’s Coming Population Crash—and China’s, with …
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The post 5/8/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract The Indo-Pacific’s ‘battle of wits’ precedes any ‘battle of metal.’ Irregular warfare campaigns preempt Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) convergence by contesting sustainment, weaponizing escalation, reconfiguring theater geometry politically, and imposing decision friction—degrading access, authorities, alliances, and logistics before crisis. Second Thomas Shoal and Galwan clashes reveal adversaries conditioning terrain without war. JADO assumes stable enablers it lacks, creating a …
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The post A Battle of Wits, Not Metal: How Irregular Warfare is Preempting Convergence in the Indo-Pacific appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Editor’s Note: This essay is from the Security & Defence PLuS Emerging Voices Series, which highlights the next generation of scholars and practitioners shaping thinking on strategy, security, and defense. The series brings together perspectives from PhD candidates and early career researchers, grounded in the complex geopolitical realities of the 21st century. The collection explores a “Latticework of Resilience” that connects …
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The post Subnational Diplomacy in a Fragmenting World appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Why the Asness Summit matters for renewing the American national security contract NASHVILLE — “Davos. Munich. Nashville.” That is how General Paul Nakasone, the former director of the National Security Agency and commander of U.S. Cyber Command, opened the fifth edition of the Asness Summit at the end of April 2026. The sequencing was deliberate. Davos sets the global economic …
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The post Davos, Munich, Nashville: Taking the National Security Conversation Beyond the Beltway appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Abstract This article examines Japanese history from the Meiji Era to the end of World War II as a case study to illustrate different modalities in which education can be utilized as a tool of the state from establishing national identity to exerting imperial control. Introduction Education as a tool for endogenous nation-building, or a weapon for state-building, is well-established …
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The post Nation-Building and Imperialism: Education as a Tool of the Centralized State appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Strategic Command Academic Alliance Purpose Develop an academic community of interest focused on research and analysis of deterrence, assurance, and associated strategic level national security themes in a rapidly changing, multi-domain global threat environment. Goals » Advance deterrence and assurance thinking beyond Cold War era narratives. » Stimulate rigorous academic research into deterrence, assurance, and other concepts of strategic thought for …
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The post Gen. Larry D. Welch Deterrence Writing Award (Due 6/1/26) | Strategic Command Academic Alliance appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Access National Security News HERE. Access Korean News HERE. National Security News: 1. The Deal With the Iranian Regime 2. Iran, U.S. Working on Talks to End Fighting 3. China has played key role in Iran war and will continue to do so 4. The Tragic Decline of the American Navy by Robert D. Kaplan 5. Hormuz crisis heats up Asia’s Arctic scramble 6. U.S. Counterterrorism …
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The post 5/7/26 National Security and Korean News and Commentary appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

A review of satellite imagery by the Washington Post found at least 228 structures or systems damaged across 15 U.S. facilities in the Middle East as a result of the Iran War. Fuel depots, barracks, radars, communications nodes, Patriot batteries, and aircraft were all hit. More striking than the scale of the damage was the precision. Analysts reviewing the imagery …
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The post The American Military Base: Untouchable No More? appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Yesterday, President Trump signed the 2026 United States Counterterrorism Strategy. It is the first formal CT strategy document of his second term and a structural reorganization of how the U.S. government identifies, prioritizes, and neutralizes terrorist threats. The White House counterterrorism director, Sebastian Gorka,  placed hemispheric narcoterrorism at the top of the priority stack, telling Reuters the strategy “first prioritizes …
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Abstract: Russia, China, and Iran have developed sophisticated narrative warfare strategies that allow them to shape political outcomes even when facing military or economic disadvantages. Russia relies on reflexive control to fragment adversaries’ perceptions and influence decision-making, while China focuses on long-term discourse shaping through disciplined messaging and institutional influence. Iran leverages revolutionary ideology and theological concepts of resistance to …
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The post How America’s Adversaries Learned to Weaponize Reality appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.

Introduction In a statement on X, US Under Secretary of State Thomas G. DiNanno claimed that China allegedly conducted a yield-producing nuclear explosive test on June 22, 2020, using a decoupling method to reduce seismic waves. The Trump administration can use this claim to justify its continuation of nuclear testing for the modernization of its nuclear program. Despite this, DiNanno’s …
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The post Testing “On An Equal Basis” or a Three-Way Arms Control Agreement appeared first on Small Wars Journal by Arizona State University.