Briefing: Understanding Hybrid Warfare – Challenges and countermeasures in liberal democracies

Over the last few years, and especially in the wake of Russian actions in Ukraine, hybrid warfare—sometimes referred to as hybrid threats—has gained more attention both in Europe and worldwide. NATO, the EU, and individual nations have devoted considerable time and resources to better understand and respond to the challenges posed by hybrid warfare. This includes the exploitation of ambiguous methods and tools of attack to weaken or degrade a targeted society, the use of plausible deniability, and the exploitation of outdated thresholds for the peace/war dichotomy. Hybrid warfare thus intentionally blurs the distinction between peace and war by operating outside our perceptions of war as a violent clash of force, and by challenging our understanding of the beginning and end of hostilities.

Dr. Njord Wegge, Senior Researcher at NUPI in Oslo will introduce recent project work on this topic. He will make the case for an improved public understanding of the challenges posed by hybrid warfare in western liberal democracies. On Monday, 17 December at 12:30, SNV will organize a 90-minute briefing on the notion of hybrid warfare. Our speaker, Dr. Njord Wegge, will first introduce the notion and threat perceptions related to the concept, as well as its application in current civil contingency and defense planning across different nations. Next, we will have a discussion, moderated by Thorsten Wetzling, on the usefulness of this notion and the challenges it poses to western liberal democracies.

Please register for the briefing below