Ian Li is Research Fellow with the Military Studies Programme (MSP) at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. His research interests are in hybrid warfare theory and military history, and his writings have appeared in online analysis and commentary websites such as CNA, Modern Warfare Institute, Wavell Room, RUSI, Small Wars Journal, The Strategy Bridge, East Asia Forum, The Diplomat, and The Interpreter. He received his MSc in Asian Studies from RSIS, and has a PhD from the National University of Singapore (NUS). He is currently also a member on the Editorial Board for POINTER, the journal of the Singapore Armed Forces.

• Military History
• Cold War History
• Hybrid Warfare Theory

RSIS Commentary Series

• Finding Clarity in the Fog of Hybrid Warfare

  05 December, 2024

• Remembering Operation Jaywick: Singapore’s Asymmetric Warfare

  09 November, 2018

IDSS Papers

• IP24023 | SAF 2040: Behind the SAF’s Future Transformation Plans

  06 March, 2024

• IP23036 | The Military’s Role in Civil Unrest – A Necessary Evil?

  17 April, 2023

• IP23011 | Operation Inherent Resolve: Understanding Singapore's Participation in Multilateral Overseas Operations

  25 January, 2023

Journal Articles

• “Lessons from Russia’s Use of Hybrid Warfare in Ukraine” in POINTER Monograph, 17, 2025, pp 23-32
• “The Importance of Context for Military History and Education” in POINTER: Journal of the Singapore Armed Forces, 46, 2, 2021, pp. 54-62

Op-Eds

• “Between War and Peace: Redefining the SAF’s Role Beyond 60”, The Diplomat, 11 July 2025
• “Undersea Cable Sabotage – and the Threat of Cutting Off Your Internet in Times of War”, CNA, 10 December 2024
• “Swift and Decisive – An Anachronistic Ideal?”, Wavell Room, 1 March 2024
• “The Rise of the Information-State: Imagined Communities and the Roots of Conflict in the Information Age”, Modern War Institute, 19 December 2023
• “Back to the Future: Using History to Prepare for Future Warfare”, The Strategy Bridge, 21 March 2023
• “Constructing the Orc: Embracing Fiction in Ukraine’s Tactical Narrative”, RUSI Commentary, 6 March 2023
• “Besieging Wei to Rescue Zhao: Combining the Indirect Approach with the Centre of Gravity”, The Strategy Bridge, 24 August 2020
• “The ‘Crisis’ in Coronavirus Crisis Communications: Southeast Asia and the Contest of Narratives” (with Wendy He), RUSI Commentary, 28 May 2020
• “Hybrid warfare’s assault on ASEAN regionalism”, East Asia Forum, 14 March 2020
• “Sound the Clarion! Hybrid Warfare Has Arrived in the Asia-Pacific”, Small Wars Journal, 14 January 2020
• “Time to Put the Old Dog Down? Debating the Future of NATO”, Modern Diplomacy, 14 January 2020
• “How Many Cold Wars Does it Take to Make a ‘New’ One?”, The Interpreter, 6 December 2019
• “The U.S.-China Rivalry as Seen in the Cold War’s Rear-View Mirror”, The Strategy Bridge, 1 October 2019
• “The Folly of US Intervention in Cambodia: What lessons from the Cold War should Washington heed?”, The Diplomat, 28 September 2018

• Guest Speaker, Ukraine Crisis Forum – One Year On on “Russia–Ukraine War: Lessons for the Future of Hybrid Warfare” by Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College, 3 April 2023.
• Guest Speaker, Ukraine Crisis Forum – Impact and Implications on “The Weaponization of the National Narrative” by Goh Keng Swee Command and Staff College, 21 March 2022.
• Guest Speaker, Air Defence and Operations Command Forum on “Hybrid Warfare and its Implications for the Asia Pacific” by Republic of Singapore Air Force, 5 February 2020.