New Research Division Publication: " NATO's Hybrid Flanks - Handling Unconventional Warfare in the South and the East"

In its Strategic Concept of 2010, NATO reconfirmed its commitment “to deter and defend against any threat of aggression and against any emerging security challenges”. Last year, with the crisis in Ukraine and the continuous rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and in the Levant (ISIL), the Alliance recognized, during its Summit in Wales, that it was faced with new, “hybrid” threats. Understood as the simultaneous use of both conventional and unconventional means, techniques and procedures, backed by a strong ideology and a mature communication strategy, these hybrid threats are insidious and, situated as they are in an ill-defined area between war and peace, difficult to analyse and deter.

The latest Research Paper by NDC examines what hybrid warfare is, in order to help our political and military stakeholders better understand the concept. It then goes through several case studies, involving the southern and eastern flanks of the Alliance, which underline the need to be better prepared. The authors consider that NATO has already started thinking about hybrid threats, but what is needed is a truly holistic approach, with some structural and organizational transformation.

Dr Jeffrey Larsen, Division Head Research

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