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What Large States Can Learn from Small States’ Total Defense Strategies
When Size Stops Being an Advantage Large nations often assume that sheer volume ensures survival. They trust in their populations, economies, and geographic depth to absorb shocks. Yet the last decade has demonstrated that abundance can conceal fragility. Critical systems fail not from external invasion but from slow corrosion of coordination and trust. Small states…
Political Will: The Secret Weapon in Great-Power Competition
The Fear That Governs Action Nuclear weapons define the outer boundary of great-power conflict, but it is not the warhead that decides whether a fighter jet is shot down or a convoy is struck. It is a matter of political will, the readiness of leaders, parliaments, and alliances to bear the risks of escalation. Capabilities…
Irregular Warfare in the Arctic: Why the High North Matters
The Arctic was once dismissed as a frozen frontier. For centuries, thick ice and harsh conditions kept the region isolated from global competition. That insulation is disappearing. Climate change has reduced sea ice cover, making the High North more accessible than ever before. New shipping routes such as the Northern Sea Route along Russia’s Siberian…
Deceived and Deployed: How Russia Lures Foreign Nationals Into Its War in Ukraine
The War That Found Them Russia is drawing foreign nationals from Asia, Africa, and Latin America into its war in Ukraine under false pretenses. They arrive believing they have secured legitimate jobs, university placements, or fast-track residency opportunities. Within days, or in some cases, mere hours, they find themselves on a battlefield they never agreed…
Revolution in Our Roots: America’s Founding as a Case Study in Irregular Warfare
One of the things that sets the United States apart on the global stage is its singular independence. In much of the world, particularly across Eastern Europe, independence is a cycle. It is declared, lost, reclaimed, and redefined. Ukraine has at least three independence anniversaries. Georgia celebrates its break from the Russian Empire, the Soviet…
Iran’s Global Irregular Warfare Apparatus
Iran prefers operating on the margins, not in the spotlight. Its strategic culture thrives on ambiguity and deniability. Tehran uses proxies, sabotage, cyber tools, and covert action to advance regional ambitions without full-scale war or direct attribution. From Beirut to Berlin, Iran’s irregular warfare network lets it punch above its weight. The regime shapes outcomes…
A Tale of Two Campaigns: Domain Dominance and Divergent Doctrines in the War for Ukraine
In recent weeks, Ukraine executed long-range drone strikes that disabled or destroyed over 40 Russian strategic aircraft across bases deep inside Russian territory. These strikes were not symbolic—they were targeted disruptions of Russia’s strike capacity. Meanwhile, Russia continues to fire missiles and drones at Ukrainian cities, hitting apartment buildings, energy infrastructure, and hospitals. These two…
Tripoli Erupts: Power Struggles and Civilian Impact in Libya’s Fragmented Capital
Tripoli is once again in the crosshairs of conflict. A sudden wave of violence swept through the Libyan capital in early May after the assassination of a high-ranking militia leader, disrupting daily life and plunging neighborhoods into darkness, both figuratively and literally. For the city’s residents, power cuts, street battles, and checkpoints are the symptoms…
