The Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI) is a joint venture between the Modern War Institute at West Point and the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, a collaborative academic project between Princeton, Stanford, the University of California at San Diego, and the University of Chicago. Published articles will be posted on IWI.
Please read the guidelines below before submitting.
Topics: Department of Defense (DOD) Joint Publication (JP) 1 Joint Warfighting defines irregular warfare (IW) as “a form of warfare where states and non-state actors campaign to assure or coerce states or other groups through indirect, non-attributable, or asymmetric activities, either as the primary approach or in concert with conventional warfare.”
If you’re unsure if your article falls within the definition of IW, check out this 2024 Congressional Research Service Primer on Irregular Warfare. We take a broad view of IW and would be happy to review your submission if you are still not certain.
Relevant subject areas include but are not limited to:
- Unconventional warfare
- Stabilization
- Foreign internal defense
- Counterterrorism
- Counterinsurgency
- Information support operations
- Cyberspace operations
- Countering threat networks
- Civil-military operations
- Security cooperation
Length: Submissions should be between 600 and 2,000 words. Exceptions to the maximum word length will be made only occasionally and when the subject matter requires it.
Types of Submissions: The mission of IWI is to bridge the gap between scholars and practitioners and to build a community of IW professionals. As such, submissions from both researchers and practitioners are encouraged. Researchers can present findings or arguments from larger academic projects or books, while practitioners may present arguments or observations from their practical experience or time in academia.
The central question we ask ourselves before pushing a submission into the editing process is, “Does this bridge the gap between scholars, practitioners, and policymakers, and build the IW community?”
Submissions that do not meet that standard are often
- unrelated to IW
- arguments for or against a political party or politician
- non-rigorous advocacy for or justification for a government’s policy
- repetition of other arguments and findings IWI previously published
- written in a way that requires heavy editorial intervention
Commentaries typically take a policy position and aim to persuade. The author uses facts, evidence, and argumentation and can, if appropriate, call upon their direct experience and expertise to establish credibility with the reader in a first-person voice.
Analyses break down a problem, challenge, or issue in a comparatively more dispassionate tone. The author should attempt to establish causality between events or decisions (or a series of events or decisions) to explain to the reader why something happened or didn’t. A strong analytical piece marshalls qualitative and quantitative evidence into a coherent, logical story.
Book Reviews engage directly with the book’s subject matter and tell readers what makes the book important or worthy of being read. They identify missed opportunities in the book or disagree with its assumptions or conclusions. A good review uses the book as an entry point into a wider debate or as the basis of the essayist’s own original argument. It is not a book report. Out of respect for our readers’ time, IWI will only publish reviews of books with great merit to the irregular warfare community.
Case Studies offer irregular warfare-relevant histories that trace how a conflict or an aspect of the conflict played out and provide lessons learned for today. Kevin Bilms’ “Cod Wars” in Proceedings sets the standard for this genre.
Style: IWI uses the Chicago Manual of Style as its house style guide. Please ensure your submission conforms to the CMOS. Additionally, our readership is broad, so please avoid jargon and overuse of acronyms.
Citations: Use hyperlinks in lieu of footnotes or endnotes. Link to source documents wherever appropriate. Avoid linking to gated academic articles. Look for a think-tank or government report, a media story, an interview, or another freely accessible item that makes your point.
Submission Format: Submit articles as Microsoft Word documents. Include a short author bio of 2–3 sentences in the document.
Legal: All articles that appear on IWI’s website will be published with the disclaimer below. Please feel free to include further disclaimer language as required or appropriate based on your position or professional affiliations.
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official position of the Irregular Warfare Initiative, Princeton University’s Empirical Studies of Conflict Project, the Modern War Institute at West Point, or the United States Government.