Real ukraine war so-called elements of classical armed conflicts hybrid threatsIt is a set of tactics used by states, private organizations and criminal groups to destabilize a country. disinformationinstrumentalization migrations or counter attacks critical infrastructure.
These are increasingly powerful tools, because “Everything tends to be a weapon to weaken the enemy”, explained this Tuesday the researcher of the Barcelona Center for International Affairs (CIDOB) Moses Bourebka during the presentation of this think tank’s latest report, ‘Hybrid threats, vulnerable order’.
But these tactics are not new. “since the time Napoleon, all wars combine both elements. There’s nothing new about the new forms of conflict, but the fact that they’re nothing new doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant to talk about it, but it shows that maybe we don’t have the analytical frameworks to understand what’s going on,” he added.
Another of the authors, Carme Colomina, explained that the distinguishing element right now is the internet, “a fundamental front for destabilization.” This is an “exponentially magnified” area. sociocultural divisions existing, security vulnerabilities and uses certain groups that tend to rely on certain narratives that sometimes unintentionally contribute. spread these manipulations“.
The conflict in the Slavic country is a evidence base For this type of attack, whose origins are difficult to trace and often surrounded by great uncertainty because they “have no clear objectives”, Pol Bargués stressed, “they usually only seek victory, as in conventional wars.” co-author of the document. “Ukraine is a conflict where all these facts converge: The classic war with major global digitalization trends, for example technoauthoritarianism Russia and China” emphasized Colomina.
Russia’s failure on immigration weapon
An example of a hybrid threat is blackmail. gas that Russia imposes on countries that aid Ukraine or condemn the Russian invasion. Instead, Moscow failed in its possible strategy. migration Ukrainians as weapons. “The influx of migrants from Ukraine did not trigger a crisis in the EU,” said Blanca Garcés. For this researcher, the restrained and supportive management of Twenty-Seven during this conflict, as in other immigration crises, prevented it from becoming a drama. She added that the key is “not to overreact, to reverse immigration policies, to address the causes and not give up on the very foundations of the EU”.
According to CIDOB director Pol Morillas, the purpose of this report is to address a fundamental issue that has a major impact on the “international order” and its “challenge for international security”. It also provides some solutions, for example regulating the activities of big technology companies (such as the recent ratification of the EU digital services law) and strategic autonomy to try to minimize such attacks. While Morillas warned, many of these solutions “will always lag behind the advancement of threats.”