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Ukraine

"Small wars are operations undertaken under executive authority, wherein military force is combined with diplomatic pressure in the internal or external affairs of another state whose government is unstable, inadequate, or unsatisfactory for the preservation of life and of such interests as are determined by the foreign policy of our Nation."

— Small Wars Manual, 1940

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Journal

NATO’s Defence and Security Sector Reform Challenges in Ukraine
by Eden Cole | Wed, 08/31/2022 - 5:16pm | 0 comments
"Ths article addresses NATO's imminent defence and security sector reform coordination challenges in Ukraine, outlines the defence and security sector assistance landscape, the value of a return to NATO's Joint Working Group on Defence Reform cooperation framework, key features of NATO-EU cooperation, and the challenges nations will face when systematising current and prior defence and SSR assistance."
SOF and Field Sanitation: The Importance of a Healthy Partner Force
by Pete Reider | Tue, 08/30/2022 - 7:15pm | 0 comments
The development and implementation of effective field sanitation and hygiene procedures marked a revolutionary step in battlefield technology. It marked a critical turning point in the early 20th century when the number of soldiers killed from disease an infection was proportionately less than those who died in or were wounded through combat. US planners began to address this problem following the First World War and it was at this point the US transitioned, as Vincent Cirillo notes, from the disease era to the trauma era.
Ghosts of the Past: Russian Strategic Failures in the First Chechen War
by Marc Belciug | Tue, 08/30/2022 - 6:21pm | 0 comments
The First Chechen War 1994-1996 was post-Soviet Russia’s first significant largescale conflict. After a tenuous peace which resembled only a pause in hostilities, it was followed by the Second Chechen War that lasted from 1999 to 2009.  Differences notwithstanding, similarities with the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war are striking - prompting Michael Kofman, Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at the Center for Naval Analysis (CAN), to say that “as though the ghost of Pavel Grachev is in charge.” By analyzing Russian strategy and strategical effectiveness in historical context, and also assessing what transpired during the conflict, it becomes clear why despite a clear political objective and means to accomplish it, the Russians failed.  The one overwhelming reason is that they proved to be inflexible and ineffective in judging the enemy’s capabilities and the nature of combat.
No Narrative, No Support, No Problem: Crafting Grand Strategy in Postmodern America
by Garrett Martin | Thu, 08/25/2022 - 5:11pm | 0 comments
An effective grand strategy aligns the efforts of a nation’s citizens in order to meet security goals. A grand strategy cannot be successfully pursued if the people are unable or unwilling to support the nation’s proposed goals. Modern grand strategy has traditionally utilized national narratives to gain the necessary public buy-in. This article argues that the American people have now grown too incredulous of narratives to support a grand strategy; a modern grand strategy cannot rationally rely on support from a postmodern society. This article theorizes how grand strategy may still align collective efforts without a narrative by conceptualizing a “postmodern grand strategy.”
Russia’s Limits Meet Ukraine’s Discretion to Slow the War Down to Ukraine’s Advantage
by Brian E. Frydenborg | Thu, 08/25/2022 - 1:32pm | 0 comments
Big battles and rapid taking or losing of territory are easy to understand and interpret.  When things slow down, though, there is a lot more uncertainty and speculation, but if you take the time to understand why things are slower, it can be as revealing as the big battles and large swaths of territory changing hands. We are now at an interesting time in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a moment where we are seeing two grand overall trends unite to heavily propel things in Ukraine’s favor.  These two overarching trends are that Ukraine is contributing prudence and Russia is contributing its deteriorating capabilities to the conflict in ways that are dictating the pacing and nature of much of the conflict at the moment, especially as most of the energy is now being directed towards the southern theater of action.
The Changing Character of War: IS’ Military Tactics
by Montassar Adaili | Tue, 08/23/2022 - 2:34pm | 0 comments
Over the last decade, the rise of military performance of non-state actors in wars and their use of terror, and other irregular military tactics led many scholars to speak about new wars. In 2014, the Islamic State emerged as dangerous terrorist group that applied asymmetric military tactics and succeeded in defeating regular forces and occupied territories. This paper seeks to explain the role of military tactics of non-state actors in changing the character of war by analyzing IS’s military tactics, what are they and how the terrorist organization applied them. This article offers better understanding of non-state actors’ tactics in changing the character of war.
SWJ Book Review – Sex Trafficking in the United States
by Mae Key-Ketter | Mon, 08/22/2022 - 8:46pm | 0 comments
Book review of Andrea J. Nichols, "Sex Trafficking in the United States: Theory, Research, Policy, and Practice by 2022 SWJ–El Centro Intern Mae Key-Ketter.
Nineteenth Century Grand Strategy Wargaming May Explain the Twenty-First Century War in the Ukraine
by James Rohrer | Mon, 08/22/2022 - 11:43am | 0 comments
Russian aggression in the Ukraine has all the earmarks of 19th century geopolitics.  Prior to the first Great War, war was an extension of diplomacy.  Nations took territory or otherwise expanded their spheres of influence without regard to whether the targets of their aggression had stronger claims to autonomy and control.  Some commentators expressed shock when Russia invaded Ukraine, saying they believed the world had outgrown war as a means of achieving national objectives.  How they arrived at that assumption is not clear.  The purpose of this essay is to apply the core concepts of a 19th century computer simulation war game to the current war in the Ukraine.  The drivers appear to fit the situation and may allow analysts to model developments over time.
China/Taiwan Crisis Shows We Need To Arm our Allies
by Richard (Dick) Newton, by Daniel Rice | Sun, 08/21/2022 - 10:50pm | 0 comments
Nuclear armed aggressor nations, such as China and Russia, cannot be allowed to invade neighboring sovereign democracies using conventional forces unchecked.  The best way to deter these aggressor nations, both Russia and China, is to arm the democracies with conventional forces capable of defending themselves or making the cost of invasion too costly for the aggressor nations in total terms. -- Provide Ukraine Excess US Air Force F-15s and F-16s...Now
Calling to End the Killing of the Clergy: Information Operations of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación
by Daniel Weisz | Sat, 08/20/2022 - 6:20pm | 0 comments
The assassination of two Jesuit priests in the state of Chihuahua led to calls by the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) to protect priests, teachers, and doctors. I argue that this video is simply another form of information operations utilized to portray the cartel in a favorable light. Information operations are incredibly diverse within Mexico’s organized crime system and can include: digital campaigns to make specific cartels look better, narcocorridos (narco-ballads) to construct mythological personas for cartel members, extreme forms of violence like beheadings to communicate to rivals and the local population, food pantries to win over the local population, and even dispute resolution services to become de facto governors, etc.

Blog Posts

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN August 30, 6.00 pm EST
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/31/2022 - 4:26pm | 0 comments

Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

8/31/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Wed, 08/31/2022 - 9:39am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

1. Ceremony Pays Homage to Special Ops Command

8/30/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Tue, 08/30/2022 - 10:31am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN August 29, 6.00 pm EST
by SWJ Editors | Tue, 08/30/2022 - 6:44am | 0 comments

Embassy of Ukraine in the USA

8/29/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Mon, 08/29/2022 - 9:36am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

8/28/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Sun, 08/28/2022 - 12:37pm | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

8/27/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Sat, 08/27/2022 - 12:01pm | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

How Ukraine is using resistance warfare developed by the US to fight back against Russia
by Dave Maxwell | Sat, 08/27/2022 - 9:55am | 0 comments

 

How Ukraine is using resistance warfare developed by the US to fight back against Russia

By Oren Liebermann, CNN

 

8/26/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Fri, 08/26/2022 - 9:07am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

Small Wars Journal–El Centro Fellow Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera Promoted to Full Professor
by SWJ Editors | Thu, 08/25/2022 - 5:52pm | 0 comments
Small Wars Journal–El Centro is proud to announce that SWJ–El Centro Fellow Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera has been promoted to the rank of full professor at George Mason University’s Schar School of Public Policy and Government.
8/25/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Thu, 08/25/2022 - 10:21am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN August 24, 6.00 pm EST
by SWJ Editors | Thu, 08/25/2022 - 6:46am | 0 comments

 

 

8/24/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Wed, 08/24/2022 - 8:25am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content:

Ukraine: WAR BULLETIN August 23, 6.00 pm EST - The one hundred eighty first (181) day of the heroic resistance of the Ukrainian peopleto the russian military invasion continues.
by SWJ Editors | Wed, 08/24/2022 - 5:46am | 0 comments
Also posted on the Small Wars Journal here: 
8/23/22 National Security and Korean News and Commentary
by Dave Maxwell | Tue, 08/23/2022 - 9:49am | 0 comments

Access National Security News HERE.

Access Korean News HERE.

National Security News Content: