In a recent Irregular Warfare Initiative podcast, Dr. Jake Shapiro and Dr. Frances Brown highlighted the critical role of irregular warfare (IW) in great power competition. They emphasized the risk of neglecting IW, noting that from 1975 to 1991, irregular conflicts comprised 87 percent of all armed conflicts, with great powers involved in most of them. This historical context suggests that for the US to compete effectively with Russia and China, focusing solely on conventional military strength is inadequate. Strategic advantage in great power competition is likely to be achieved by also emphasizing competence in IW.
Publication Information
Radziszewski, Elizabeth. 2024. “Harnessing GRAT for Irregular Warfare in Great Power Competition.” Irregular Warfare Initiative. https://irregularwarfare.org/articles/harnessing-grat-for-irregular-warfare-in-great-power-competition/.