Modern irregular warfare: the fresh face of conflict

One of the most crucial studies describing the changes taking place is Seth G. Jones' analysis of "The Evolution of Irregular Warfare" (in *War and the Modern Battlefield*, Chapter 12, CSIS, 2025). In it, the CSIS author points out that irregular warfare encompasses a broad set of activities, specified as sabotage, diversion, sabotage, guerrilla warfare, support of proxy groups, cyberattacks, information operations, terrorism, influence campaigns, hostage-taking and intelligence activities aimed at disrupting enemy states. Significantly, the paper emphasizes that irregular warfare has ceased to be the domain of the weak - in fact, it has become the preferred tool of the powerful as they search to accomplish political advantage while maintaining a space of deniability and cost containment.