Given a Russian invasion scenario, the Baltic States would have no choice to preserve their independence but to fight a guerrilla war against occupying forces.
Journal
Journal Articles are typically longer works with more more analysis than the news and short commentary in the SWJ Blog.
We accept contributed content from serious voices across the small wars community, then publish it here as quickly as we can, per our Editorial Policy, to help fuel timely, thoughtful, and unvarnished discussion of the diverse and complex issues inherent in small wars.
“Political warfare” is a form of strategy that leverages diplomatic, informational, military, and economic capabilities to achieve strategic objectives.
The suicide bomber -- be it man borne, vehicle borne, aircraft borne, or otherwise – has steadily evolved as a key capability within the Islamic State’s military apparatus.
NATO rarely, if ever, exercises the deployment to and operation of the force in an environment that is under “hybrid” attack.
The vast majority of the US populace—the proverbial 99%—just witnessed the blatant crossing of a class warfare ‘red line’ to the benefit of the American plutocracy.
It is becoming increasingly crucial to understand Iran’s grand strategy. To help reach this end, this essay studies the origin and impact of Iran’s feelings of victimization.
Police in the Washington, DC suburb of Montgomery County, MD have arrested a suspect in the brutal gang murder of a still unidentified man whose body was found in a pre-dug grave.
We face an enemy ideology that crafted and shaped an enduring, effective message, near perfecting dissemination and application to relevant target audiences.
Artificial intelligence algorithms built into business applications software is increasingly changing how multinational corporations interface with their customer base.
Despite regional territorial loses, one pocket of ISIS controlled territory remains intact, increasing its presence along the borders of Israel and Jordan.
The war will not only continue but will expand, that we will keep at it on a larger scale with new and sweeping objectives. Our troops and the country will have a high price to pay.
The character of war, strategy development and operational dilemmas change over time, therefore operational approaches must do the same.
The United States military should develop cyber special operations capabilities to expand the menu of policy options for addressing threats to U.S. interests and national security.
SWJ interview with Robert O. Work, the 31st Deputy Secretary of Defense.
Like “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", Apple Incorporated is a beloved ‘American’ company by day and a ‘stateless’ behemoth after hours when it is time to pay taxes.
The protests that began on Thursday December 28, are the largest such protests since 2009. By Saturday, they had spread to about 40 cities and are very different than those in 2009.
The change highlights an interesting trend with respect to where--and possibly how--Hezbollah recruits fighters for the war in Syria.
The Iraqi MoD’s presence on social media--and Facebook in particular--has been a crucial element of its military learning process since 2014.
Responding to the crisis of ineffective governance will require governance advising during all phases of military operations. We describe here the potential role of the SFAB in such a response.
Recently, I spoke with four individuals about the ongoing and evolving crisis concerning Post-Independence Referendum Iraqi Kurdistan.
The growing lethality of N. Korea’s military increasingly undercuts America’s ability to use diplomatic pressure, economic sanctions or military force to counter its provocative behavior.
A battle for spiritual dominance and power is taking place in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
The fundamentalist rulers of Iran are confident that their goal of establishing a coalition of Shia countries and regions under their control is nearing fruition.
Most people pay attention to the heavy hitters, but a group that needs more extensive study is the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Central Asian countries.
President Trump has signaled his intention to further fuel the escalating arms race in Asia and profit from it.
Congress is right to try and take back their war powers before they are eroded by yet another administration. War Powers Resolution section 8(c) represents one excellent opportunity.
Recent analysis of the practice of decapitation by Islamist terrorists raises questions about the effectiveness of these horrific tactics in a modern world.
SWJ/El Centro - Third Generation Gangs Strategic Note No. 5: Brazilian Military Stability and Support Operations (SASO) in Rio de Janeiro’s Favelas
To date, the United States and its allies have failed to fully integrate their capabilities to counter Iran’s actions which threaten global stability.
Multi-domain battle has a nexus in the Operational Support Area of cyberspace. Often taken for granted, freedom of maneuver in the cyber domain is not guaranteed.
The expanding terrorist footprint in Bangladesh may result in the small nation becoming an Islamic militant sanctuary and a launching pad for future transnational terrorist attacks.
Private military companies can provide comparatively cheap and rapid solutions in warzones, while side-stepping messy political and international ties.
In future conflicts against near-peer enemies, hybrid 4th and 5th generation threats will challenge allied air superiority and limit the ability for CAS aircraft to loiter and provide on-call fires.
A Small Wars Journal interview with General David Petraeus by Octavian Manea.
The case study of ETA offers a unique opportunity to assess the strategy and ideology of both the state and the terrorist organization in the context of dictatorship and democracy.
The battle of the beret has been a long and never-ending campaign for a multitude of Army Chiefs of Staff.
Diversionary war theory generally denotes attention to troubled leadership that may juxtapose domestic quandaries with instigation or enjoining forces to external crises.
The success of Russian hybrid war is predicated on its espionage, technical intelligence collection, influence operations, and intelligence activities.
Bloom has written an extraordinarily thorough and richly descriptive argument, with a variety of supporting themes.
The recent acclaimed Burns-Novick documentary on Vietnam is great cinematic art but poor history. Unfortunately, it will be generally judged as THE history.
Words matter. Symbols matter. Does the Army see no meaningful difference between SF and SFAB?
With the role of sports encompassing a wide range of components of American culture, how does this role impact the development of foreign and security policies?
While DMARC is a good step to enhance some aspects of email security, it does not solve the phishing problem and adversaries routinely overcome the protections afforded.
This book shows that the Maginot Line is more than a metaphor for poor planning. It remains a physical series of structures that can still be visited.
This paper discusses the tactics the Shining Path employed to spread their influence from the southern Andean highlands throughout the majority of Peru.
It is necessary to explore the role development, broadly defined and applied, plays in fuelling a crisis such as his been witnessed through the emergence of Boko Haram.
An interview with Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster – The 26th National Security Advisor on recent developments in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Qatar.
34 years ago the U.S. invaded Grenada, rescued some medical students, and rounded-up a gang of thugs and criminals, along with their Cuban communist backers.
This paper aims to examine the issues of mass migration to Europe, its impact on European security and provide practical policy recommendations.
The ambush exposed Egypt’s main security weakness - its inability to effectively police the country and its long borders.