Episode 22: Resilience and Resistance: Interdisciplinary Lessons in Competition, Deterrence, and Irregular Warfare

Guests Robert Burrell and John Collison join Dave Brown to discuss this comprehensive volume which provides the first canon for SOF, interagency, and conventional forces to understand irregular warfare, and the emerging areas of Resilience and Resistance within international competition, and deterrence. The book highlights the asymmetric strategies of adversaries to subvert the international order, including the malign activities of the CCP, Russia, North Korea, Iran, and violent extremist organizations, (and includes case studies on Cuba, Laos, Tibet, and Colombia).

Guests:

Robert S. Burrell, Ph.D. is a resilience and resistance interdisciplinary scholar using data-driven and human-centric methodologies to analyze intrastate conflict ranging from nonviolent protest through belligerency. His methodological frameworks can be found in his new book Resilience and Resistance. He also serves as a 2025 fellow for the Irregular Warfare Initiative. He currently works as Senior Research Fellow with the Global and National Security Institute at the University of South Florida. He has a PhD in history from the University of Warwick and master’s degrees from San Diego State University and the U.S. Naval War College.

John Collison is a Core One contractor supporting Special Operations concept development. John is a retired Army Lieutenant-Colonel with over 26 years of active-duty service in the Civil Affairs and Infantry career fields. He served on the USSOCOM Staff, the Army Staff and held various assignments in both Civil Affairs and Infantry units as an Operations Officer, Executive Office, Company Commander and Platoon leader. John’s overseas assignments and deployments include Cambodia, Egypt, Honduras, Bosnia, Iraq, and Alaska.

Articles/References:

1. Resilience and Resistance: Interdisciplinary Lessons in Competition, Deterrence, and Irregular Warfare, JSOU Press, July 2025
2. Authored by: Robert S. Burrell, John Collison, A. Jackson, David Oakley, Brian Petit, Chris Mason, John H. Mongan, David DiOrio, Thomas A. Marks, Aaron Baty, Gabriele Pierini, Christopher Marsh, David Maxwell, Namrata Goswami
3. Edited by: Robert S. Burrell