Show Notes
Episode 122 examines a unique theory on Irregular War that challenges both historical and contemporary frameworks on the topic. The guests conduct an in-depth discussion and debate over the complexities of Irregular War and its implications for the U.S. in future conflicts throughout the globe. Our guests define and discuss the various terminology commonly used amongst the irregular warfare community as the foundation for introducing the concept of the “dysfunctional sovereign.” They then debate the strengths and weaknesses of this theory of irregular war and its utility within the context of the current global threat environment. Our guests then provide insight into understanding the importance of both allied and adversarial perspectives on the subject, the shortcomings of current U.S. military doctrine related to irregular war, and how the U.S. should adapt its approach in the future. Lastly, they provide recommendations for how policymakers and practitioners can better approach irregular warfare in the future. Jonathan Hackett is a U.S. Marine with two decades of experience running complex intelligence operations and special activities in dozens of countries across four continents. He finished his military career leading the only formal school in the Marine Corps making military advisors for our allies and partners. During his time in the Marine Corps, he held positions at the Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and Special Operations Command prior to teaching in Dam Neck, Virginia. In addition to his book Theory of Irregular War, Jonathan writes extensively on security cooperation, irregular conflicts, and clandestine intelligence activities. Dr. Sandor Fabian is a defense Contractor at Morgan6 LLC. supporting the Irregular Warfare Center as deputy regional advisor for Europe and Africa. Dr. Fabian is a former Hungarian Special Forces officer with 20+ years of military experience and has served in multiple national and international assignments including the Assessment and Evaluation Branch head at the NATO Special Operations Headquarters. Dr. Fabian has published numerous journal articles and op-eds on resistance, special operations, small countries’ defense frameworks, U.S. security assistance programs, and is the author of the book titled, Irregular Warfare: The future Military Strategy for Small States.
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U.S. military assistance often has a bad reputation, but it isn’t doomed to failure. This episode examines why security assistance succeeds with some partners and falls short with others, and what it takes to turn weapons and training into lasting military capability. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Charles Hooper, Dr. Richard Bennet, and Dr. Alexander Noyes are the guests. Today’s episode explores how the United States can build effective military partners, drawing on Richard Bennet and Alexander Noyes’s book, War at Arm’s Length: How America Can Build Effective Partners Through Military Assistance (Yale University Press, 2026). Our guests begin by asking what effectiveness means, when security assistance advances U.S. interests, and how Washington should assess the results. Bennet and Noyes explain the book’s central argument that shared security interests and capable defense institutions make assistance more likely to succeed. The discussion then examines how far sustained assistance and personal relationships can bring partners’ interests closer together, and how much alignment is needed at the outset. Drawing on cases including Ukraine and Colombia, the guests explore the importance of partners’ willingness to reform and the limits of externally imposed change. The episode closes with recommendations for choosing partners, coordinating U.S. assistance, and sequencing support so that institutions can sustain the capabilities Washington helps provide. Lieutenant General (Ret.) Charles W. Hooper is Senior Counselor at The Cohen Group and a former director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. In this role, he led the agency responsible for the sale of all US weapons, military equipment, support services, and training packages to foreign governments, which included oversight of 20,000 people globally and over $50 billion in annual sales. During his 41-year military career, he served as the Senior U.S. Defense Official in Egypt, U.S. Defense Attaché to China, and Director of Strategy, Plans, and Programs at US Africa Command and Deputy Director for Strategic Planning and Policy at US Indo-Pacific Command. He speaks fluent Mandarin and is a graduate of West Point and Harvard’s Kennedy School. Dr. Richard Bennet is a senior research associate at the Center for International and Security Studies in the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy. His work examines strategic competition and the effectiveness of defense activities, drawing on experience coordinating assessments and program evaluation at multiple U.S. combatant commands. He earned his doctorate in war studies at King’s College London and is coauthor of War at Arm’s Length. Dr. Alexander Noyes is a fellow in the Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology at the Brookings Institution and coauthor of War at Arm’s Length. From 2021 to 2023, he served as a senior advisor and then deputy director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Policy, leading efforts to evaluate security cooperation and providing policy oversight for institutional capacity building programs. He earned his doctorate at the University of Oxford. Alexandra Chinchilla is the host for this episode. Please reach out to her with any questions about the episode or IWI. The Irregular Warfare Podcast is a production of the Irregular Warfare Initiative (IWI). We are a team of volunteers dedicated to bridging the gap between scholars and practitioners to support the community of irregular warfare professionals. IWI generates written and audio content, coordinates events for the IW community, and hosts critical thinkers in the field of irregular warfare as IWI fellows. You can follow and engage with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for (always free!) access to our written content, upcoming community events, and other resources. All views expressed in this episode are the personal views of the participants and do no
Episode 164 of the Irregular Warfare Podcast grapples with the hidden costs of precision warfare, looking at how drone strikes affect civilian populations well beyond their immediate lethal footprint. Anchored in a study using twelve billion geocoded cell phone records from Yemen, the conversation explores how drone strikes trigger sharp spikes in civilian mobility and communication—disruptions on a scale comparable to major natural disasters—even when no civilians are physically harmed. Our guests unpack what these findings mean for the strategic logic of precision airpower and discuss the tension between tactical accuracy and perceived legitimacy on the ground.
This episode of the Irregular Warfare Podcast concludes our four-part Future of War series, pairing author and futurist August Cole with senior special operations leaders to explore how tomorrow’s conflicts may unfold.