Irregular Warfare Podcast

Exploration of China's use of nontraditional security forces abroad, contrasting the PLA with internal police and paramilitaries. Discussion on how China aids foreign governments for regime stability. Examining how the US and its allies can compete with China in security cooperation.

Exploring the impact of drones and robotics on the battlefield in Ukraine, and how US Special Operations formations are adapting. They discuss the use of drones in past SOF missions and the changes needed to keep up with modern warfare. The episode also touches on the challenges of AI, automation, and military recruitment, as well as the importance of data analytics in drone operations.

Exploring security force assistance efforts in Ukraine and Afghanistan, experts discuss challenges in aligning priorities and tactics. They emphasize the importance of balancing influence and incentives in partnerships for strategic success. The conversation delves into tailoring training to local priorities and navigating complexities in security force assistance projects, emphasizing the significance of self-sufficiency for partners in conflict areas.

Discussing the history and development of intelligence capabilities in irregular warfare, focusing on partnerships between US SOF and the CIA. They explore enablers' critical role, challenges in inter-unit coordination, JAGs' importance in compliance, and the future of intelligence collection. Emphasizing adaptability, teamwork, and innovation to succeed in irregular warfare.

Exploring Cold War lessons for today's strategic competition, guests discuss the role of irregular conflicts, battlegrounds between great powers, and recommendations for policymakers. Topics include competencies in training partner forces, fragile states, and the challenges posed by China's resources. The podcast also explores academia and government service in conflict studies, the intersection of irregular warfare and great power competition, and the interconnectedness of fragile states and global strategic competition.

Experts discuss how special operations forces disrupt adversaries by disrupting critical elements, leveraging unique capabilities in peacetime and combat operations. They highlight interagency cooperation challenges and the importance of deterrence through irregular warfare. The podcast explores historical and contemporary uses of SOF to impose costs on adversaries and create strategic advantages, emphasizing the need for ongoing dialogue and intelligence sharing.

Exploring the complexities of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration for ex-combatants, including success stories from Mexico and Niger. Discussing community-centric DDR strategies and the effectiveness of third-generation DDR interventions in reducing violence worldwide.

Delving into covert and clandestine operations, the podcast explores challenges in translating irregular warfare into policies, contrasts covert and overt actions, and discusses tensions between military and civilian leaders in managing covert programs. It also analyzes deterrence in modern warfare, the impact of technology on covert operations, and the struggle of the US to maintain global influence amid shifting power dynamics.

Exploring irregular warfare in space, guests discuss the importance of the space domain, frameworks for space competition, and the role of private industries. They delve into the complexities of space warfare, Guardian Forces, law warfare tactics by China and Russia, and the intersection of commercial space capabilities with irregular warfare. The episode concludes by examining the challenges of private industries in space operations and teases future topics on disarmament in post-conflict societies.

The podcast explores stay behind operations in resistance warfare and their utility in imposing costs on occupying powers. It discusses the factors influencing resistance strategy, building resilience in supply lines, and the relevance of civilian-based resistance. The hosts express gratitude and provide updates on future episodes.