Small Wars Journal

Small Wars Journal
Name	Small Wars Journal
Type	Online journal
Format	Web magazine
Founded	2002
Founder	Andrew Bacevich
Headquarters	Quantico, Virginia
Language	English

Small Wars Journal

Small Wars Journal is an online forum and periodical focused on irregular warfare, counterinsurgency, stability operations, and expeditionary affairs. It serves practitioners, scholars, and policymakers by publishing articles, commentary, book reviews, and after-action reports that connect fields such as counterterrorism, peacekeeping, and intelligence. Contributors include military officers, diplomats, academics, and journalists from institutions associated with United States Marine Corps, United States Army, NATO, United Nations, and various think tanks.

Overview

Small Wars Journal emphasizes analysis of irregular conflicts like the Iraq War, Afghanistan War (2001–2021), and historical insurgencies such as the Malayan Emergency, Vietnam War, and Algerian War. It addresses doctrine linked to documents like the FM 3-24 (2006), policy debates surrounding the Surge (Iraq) and the NATO Resolute Support Mission, and operational experiences connected to units such as the 3rd Infantry Division, 1st Marine Division, and Special Forces (United States Army). The journal often engages with academic work from Harvard Kennedy School, Princeton University, King's College London, and Naval Postgraduate School, as well as analyses from RAND Corporation, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and Brookings Institution.

History and Development

Founded in the aftermath of early twenty-first-century interventions, Small Wars Journal grew during debates over post-9/11 strategy that included figures associated with John McCain, John Kerry, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. Early content intersected with controversial episodes like the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse revelations and doctrinal shifts epitomized by the development of counterinsurgency manuals used in Iraq War troop surge of 2007. The platform evolved amid institutional conversations at venues such as Marine Corps University, United States Army War College, and the Coalition Provisional Authority, drawing submissions from veterans of campaigns in Helmand Province, Fallujah, and Mosul.

Editorial Structure and Contributors

Editorial leadership has included retired officers, academics, and practitioners with affiliations to Georgetown University, Columbia University, Yale University, and service schools like Command and General Staff College and National Defense University. Regular contributors and guest authors have included analysts from International Crisis Group, journalists from The New York Times, The Washington Post, and former officials from Office of the Secretary of Defense and Department of State (United States). The journal’s peer commentary format mirrors workshops at institutions like Royal United Services Institute, CNA (think tank), and Institute for the Study of War.

Content and Themes

Content spans tactical after-action reports from operations in Kandahar, Baghdad, and Syria, strategic essays on counterinsurgency doctrine tied to United States Central Command debates, and policy critiques addressing stabilization in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Sahel campaign. Thematic coverage includes civil-military cooperation exemplified by programs in Provincial Reconstruction Team (Iraq), intelligence fusion practices connected to Joint Task Force 6, and legal-military intersections involving the Law of Armed Conflict and cases like Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. Book reviews commonly analyze works by authors associated with David Kilcullen, Thomas Ricks, Andrew Bacevich, and Amy Zegart.

Impact and Reception

The journal influenced doctrine discussions that contributed to publications like Counterinsurgency Field Manual (2006) and informed debates in congressional hearings before committees such as Senate Armed Services Committee and House Armed Services Committee. Policymakers from administrations linked to Donald Trump and Joe Biden have encountered its analyses, and military educators at United States Naval Academy and United States Military Academy have assigned pieces from the site. Academic citations appear in journals like Journal of Strategic Studies, International Security, and Parameters, while think tanks such as Heritage Foundation and Atlantic Council have debated its arguments.

Conferences, Publications, and Events

Small Wars Journal organizes and promotes symposia and workshops with partners including Marine Corps Association, United States Institute of Peace, International Institute for Strategic Studies, and regional centers like NATO Allied Command Transformation. It sponsors panels at conferences including AUSA Annual Meeting, Munich Security Conference, and specialist seminars at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. The platform also curates anthologies and special collections addressing campaigns such as the Anbar Awakening and operations against ISIS.

Criticism and Controversies

Critics have argued that certain articles aligned with contentious policy choices during the Iraq War and Afghanistan War (2001–2021) reflected advocacy rather than neutral analysis, prompting responses from scholars at Oxford University, University of Chicago, and Stanford University. Debates over contributor vetting have involved personnel linked to Blackwater (company), contractors operating under Defense Contract Management Agency oversight, and intelligence community figures from Central Intelligence Agency. Ethical disputes have also touched on civilian harm reporting in operations like Operation Phantom Fury and transparency debates tied to datasets used by analysts at RAND Corporation.

Category:Online military journals