What the Hell is Irregular Warfare Anyway?

About this episode

This episode explores the various definitions of irregular warfare and their implications for military operations and strategy.

Episode 152 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast grapples with the many definitions of irregular warfare used across the community of interest. In this episode, our guests discuss why the concept of irregular warfare has resisted a stable definition across decades of changing doctrine, and what that persistent confusion has cost operationally and strategically. We walk through three competing definitional approaches— the maximal, the traditional, and the competition-disruption model — weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each. We close by asking what irregular warfare actually is at its core, and why getting that answer right matters, not just for writers of doctrine, but for practitioners. The article is here: Fragmented Frontiers: Three Approaches to Understanding Irregular Warfare Dr. Chris Tripodi is Reader in Irregular Warfare at the Defence Studies Department, King's College London. His research focuses on the forms of knowledge Western militaries use to understand their operational environments, and the complex relationship between counterinsurgency theory and practice. Eric Robinson is an Associate Director of the Data Science and Technology Group at the RAND Corporation…

People in this episode

Guests: Dr. Chris Tripodi, Eric Robinson, Lieutenant General (ret.) Mike Nagata

Topics covered

• irregular warfare
• military doctrine
• operational strategy
• counterinsurgency
• definitions of warfare

Keywords

• irregular warfare
• military definitions
• doctrine
• operational strategy
• counterinsurgency
• special operations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Defence Studies Department, King's College London, RAND Corporation

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