Irregular Warfare and Strategic Competition Today
What Is Irregular Warfare? Understanding Strategic Competition Below the Threshold of Armed Conflict
Irregular warfare has become a central feature of contemporary strategic competition. Rather than relying solely on conventional military force, states increasingly pursue their objectives through political, economic, informational, and other forms of activity that operate below the threshold of armed conflict.
Winning Without Fighting: Irregular Warfare and Strategic Competition in the 21st Century provides an in-depth analysis of these dynamics. Coauthored by Dr. Rebecca Patterson, the book examines how states compete, influence, and achieve strategic objectives without relying on direct or sustained military confrontation.
What is irregular warfare?
Irregular warfare does not have a single universally agreed-upon definition. In Winning Without Fighting, it is defined as actions taken below the threshold of armed conflict—activities that do not necessitate force or violence.
Rather than focusing narrowly on insurgency or unconventional tactics, the book emphasizes how irregular warfare operates through the coordinated use of multiple instruments of national power, including political, economic, informational, and military measures.
Why is irregular warfare important today?
Irregular warfare is increasingly important because states seek to achieve strategic objectives while avoiding escalation to conventional war. As outlined in the 2022 National Security Strategy, competition now often unfolds through sustained, integrated activities rather than direct battlefield engagements.
The book highlights how these dynamics shape modern security environments, particularly in an era defined by recurring crises and long-term strategic competition.
How do states conduct irregular warfare?
Winning Without Fighting shows that irregular warfare involves the integrated application of national power. These approaches include efforts to enhance one’s own power, legitimacy, and resilience while undermining those of adversaries.
Resilience, in particular, is identified as a foundation of national defense, alongside military, political, economic, and informational instruments.
What does this book add to debates about irregular warfare?
The book identifies shortcomings in American strategic culture, particularly the tendency to privilege kinetic approaches over sustained, non-kinetic competition. It argues for a more nuanced and comprehensive approach that aligns long-term objectives with the full spectrum of national capabilities.
Drawing on historical context and examples from China and Russia, the book demonstrates how irregular warfare strategies are employed in practice and why they present ongoing challenges for US national security.
Who should read Winning Without Fighting?
This book is essential for scholars, policymakers, and military professionals working in international security and defense studies. It is also well suited for classroom use, with a ready-to-use 10-week syllabus available.
As part of the series’ commitment to theory into practice, the book equips readers with the tools needed to understand and engage with irregular warfare in contemporary strategic competition.
Meet the Author at ISA 2026
Attendees of the 2026 International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention will have the opportunity to meet Dr. Rebecca Patterson.
📅 Monday, March 23, 2026
⏰ 10:00–10:30 a.m. (ISA Exhibit Hall Coffee Break)
📍 Cambria Press Booth 202
Join the conversation on irregular warfare, strategic competition, and how these concepts can be applied in research and teaching.
👉 Learn more: https://www.cambriapress.com/WinningWithoutFighting