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Venezuela Contingency Operation: Resistance Potential and Irregular Warfare Risk

Tension between Venezuela and the United States has intensified, reflected in the massing of military forces, attacks on small watercraft, and a sharper political confrontation. These developments warrant a clear assessment of how Venezuelan society might react if foreign ground forces appeared on its territory. How would social structures, armed groups, and political factions respond
China’s Fishing Flotillas as Paramilitary Economic Warfare

In the darkness of the eastern Pacific, a floating city of light drifts beyond Ecuador’s territorial waters. Hundreds of Chinese fishing vessels illuminate the horizon, their floodlights cutting through the night while satellite transponders flicker off one by one. To the untrained eye, this looks like ordinary commerce. To regional navies and maritime analysts, it
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








