Guest Craig Whiteside and co-host Tim Hoyt join Dave Brown to discuss a recent book on Special Operations capabilities being developed by violent non-state actors, including various militants, mercenaries, and even criminal organizations. Join us for this discussion on the growing and emerging capabilities of the dark side of international security, as we examine the recent book, Non-State Special Operations: Capabilities and Effects, by Craig Whiteside and Ian Rice.
Timothy D. Hoyt, Ph.D. is a Senior Professor at the U.S. Naval War College’s Strategy and Policy Department. Professor Hoyt holds the John Nicholas Brown Chair of Counterterrorism and Academic Director of the Advanced Strategist Program. Publications include articles on the war on terrorism in South Asia, the limits of military force in the global war on terrorism, military innovation and warfare in the developing world, and the impact of nuclear weapons on recent crises in South Asia. He is currently working on a book on American military strategy in the 21st Century, and a study of the strategy of the Irish Republican Army from 1913-2005.
Craig Whiteside is a Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College resident program at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, where he teaches military officers as part of their professional military education. He is a senior associate with the Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, and a fellow at the International Centre for Counter-terrorism – The Hague and George Washington's Program on Extremism. Whiteside’s current research focuses on the doctrinal influences on the leadership of the so-called Islamic State movement and its evolving strategies. He is the co-author of The ISIS Reader: Milestone Texts of the Islamic State Movement (2020). He has a PhD in Political Science from Washington State University and a former U.S. Army officer with combat experience.
Episode Length
1:25:23
File Size
195 MB
File Format
MP3
Release Date
9-2025
Keywords
U.S. Naval War College, Center on Irregular Warfare and Armed Groups, CIWAG, Irregular Warfare, IW, Trident, Non-State Special Operations, Violent Non-State Actors, VNSA, Special Operations, Militant Groups, Proxy Groups, Criminal Cults, Mercenaries, Proxy War, Armed Conflict
Recommended Citation
Brown, Dave, "Episode 20: Non-state Special Operations: Capabilities and Effects" (2025). The Trident Podcast. 20.
https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/the-trident/20
Channel: U.S. Naval War College
Published: 2026-04-15
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weljs0vKmls