  Motivated by the 4d effective field theories for closed string axions in Type
II string compactifications with D-branes, we consider chiral gauge theories
coupled to multiple axions. We discuss how well-known non-perturbative
dynamical phenomena, such as gauge instantons, fermion confinement and
Nambu-Jona-Lasinio interactions, give rise to non-trivial vacuum configurations
in the IR. The fluctuations about the IR vacuum are captured by some remaining
closed string axions and infladrons (scalar chiral condensate excitations),
which acquire dynamical masses. By employing the full power of the effective
field theory, we investigate the applicability of these IR theories as
inflationary models (natural, monodromy, Starobinsky) and connect different
types of inflationary scenarios to different phases of the non-Abelian gauge
theory or the Nambu-Jona-Lasinio four-fermion couplings. The back-reaction of
the infladrons flattens the axion potential in natural-like inflationary
models, such that the tension with current CMB data with respect to the
spectral index and the tensor-to-scalar ratio can be partially alleviated.
