An entire American armored brigade in Poland, in particular, would finally capture acute historical significance.
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.
One of the current challenges involving COISTs stems from an overall military shift.
It is a tenet of our system of justice that the punishment should fit the crime.
Understanding ISIS is fairly simply, resolving it as a matter of National interest is a lot harder.
“Splinter Gulf Cartel drug groups fight for control of Matamoros/Reynosa.”Mexico DailyReview. 14 February 2015,
Many in the academic and policy communities share the notion that organized crime groups operate similarly to legitimate businesses.
Jordan is a key United States strategic partner. This essay provides basic information about Jordan the military practitioner should know.
Special Operations Forces have the potential to prevent and deescalate many conflicts before they become outright shooting wars.
The Army’s senior leadership seems to routinely probe the future when faced with a smaller Army and fewer resources than desired, and more threats than are comfortable.
Hoping that Iran will neither add to the sectarian divide nor expand its influence and control is more than fanciful.
In an increasingly unstable world order, there has never been a greater need for international cooperation in the fight against transnational crime and terrorism.
Now, more than ever, the nation requires the Army to make fundamental changes to ensure it is prepared for the complex challenges of the future.
Iran perceives itself as the underdog in a protracted conflict where it is outmanned, outgunned, militarily surrounded, and diplomatically isolated.
When systems fail the drawbacks of an increasingly exclusive focus on digital-systems training – and the associated sacrifice of traditional training – become readily apparent.
The fundamental principle of utilizing a combination of conventional and irregular methods to achieve a political objective is consistent with older forms of conflict.
Clausewitz would laud Putin’s ability to use war as a way of achieving political ends.
"America’s Modern Wars: Understanding Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam" (Casemate, 2015, 376 pages, $32.95) by Christopher A. Lawrence.
In this article, I apply Jonathan Matusitz’s insights from Symbolism in Terrorism to identify and isolate the plotline of the ISIS beheading narrative.
The recent National Security Strategy (NSS) as well as events unfolding in Iraq may point the way for what we will see in the years to come and how we can expect to deal with it.
Last year was witness to three police operations against gangs in Catalonia, targeting the Latin Kings, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS13), and the Bloods.
It was the anniversary of the passing of Ed “Too Tall” Freeman, Congressional Medal of Honor winner and a true shepherd of the National flock.
Outlines the root causes of Colombia’s existing security and development challenges and highlights some of the shortcomings in Colombia’s “counterinsurgency” strategy.
This article examines the effectiveness of the Australian Defence Force’s interaction with government and non-government agencies in ‘small wars’ since 1999.
The hope is that this investigation will shed light on a little-remembered chapter of American history; thus providing policy makers with yet another historical data point to draw upon.
Interview with Carter Malkasian, the author of “War Comes to Garmser. Thirty Years of Conflict on the Afghan Frontier”.
Given global urbanization trends, the Army must be prepared to confront challenges arising in megacities to remain a relevant instrument of national power.
While it would be tempting to posit Paris as another bloody data point explained by our conceptual schema, Paris is in fact cause for broadening and expanding it.
Within Army culture there is a basic misunderstanding regarding Standards and Rules. They are not the same, despite a long-standing military belief in equivalence.
Leaders today face increasing pressures as they navigate their organizations through a constant barrage of dynamic business conditions and more demanding stakeholder expectations.
Small Wars Journal interview with Robert Martinage.
The Baga attack signifies the genocidal nature of Boko Haram’s violence, the group will undermine West Africa’s security unless Nigeria can quickly improve its COIN operations.
The Regionally Aligned Forces concept is certainly not business as usual, but is also the result of a sobering truth: leveraging national military power to secure our vital interests.
The West must orient itself to the composite that ISIS presents and avoid the catastrophic pitfall of trying to create the enemy it wants to fight at the expense of the one presented.
Going back to 1989, and certainly since 2001, the US has failed to construct a coalition of moderates that might be able to enhance legitimacy and increase stability.
Asian support for ISIL will largely be based in Southeast Asia, which possesses the largest Muslim population in the region and will manifest through Asian nationals traveling to the Middle East.
Before we embark on our next foreign adventure, Americans need to remember as long as we accept the moral responsibility for ungoverned spaces, insurgent forces will attack us.
The study of European—and particularly British—imperial experiences with insurgency produced two contending schools of thought on the legacy of counterinsurgency.
This article suggests that a new definition of religion is necessary to properly conceptualize and develop policy in response to violent religious behaviors.
Our National Guard forces should be retooled for asymmetrical warfare and domestic utilization, while our active duty forces should maintain their kinetic combat supremacy.
Adam Smith’s Invisible Hand vs. The Taliban: Bottom-Up Expeditionary Diplomacy in Fragile States – Best Practices from the Civilian Surge in Afghanistan
In the future global environment, the U.S. military will rely more heavily on distributed command groups for managing and responding to crises and threats.
Adding another joint function to the current set of six, which is attuned to the human domain, will fill a significant gap.
Since the end of the Liberian Civil War in 2003, the United States has been engaged in a partnership with the UN and the Government of Liberia to rebuild the Liberian security sector.
Welcome to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, otherwise known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or the Islamic State.
The demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration plan focuses on those who may be swayed.
To successfully combat 21st Century problems, in an era of resource and geo-political power constraints, the U.S. and its Allies need to develop a JIIM approach to Irregular Warfare.
This review essay looks at: the memoir of a Secretary of Defense, a recent RAND study, the cri de coeur of a retired general, and the memoir of a combat veteran and leading coindinista.
Radicalization is not necessarily related with Islam as Russian examples clearly demonstrate.
Understanding how the democratization of Iraq failed could be instructive to future endeavors towards democratization throughout the world.
This article examines the activities of Australian Jihadists in Syria and Iraq.