SMITH Hanna - Hybrid Threats to European Security: Challenges and Counteraction (25h)
24 February 2022 brought war yet again into Europe. Ukraine is the first case where hybrid threat activity has gone through all three phases: priming, destabilization, and coercion, before the activity moved away from the landscape of hybrid threats into a conventional war. The start of the war showed clearly how important it is for the EU and its member states to build resilience, have effective responses, mitigate the activity and also think of ways to deter. Today the concept of hybrid threats is a political normality appearing in the discourses and documents of the EU, of NATO and of their member states.
This optional course addresses questions of how our security environment has changed not only due to the war in Ukraine but also because the technological revolution penetrates all areas of life, affecting the thinking about security, conflict and war. Disinformation is part of the information landscape and foreign information manipulation and interference challenges the way we consider freedom of speech and transparency. The interconnectedness and complexity of networks are of a very different nature than ever before in human history, yet at the same time, we are heading towards new dividing lines. New domains like space and cyber have emerged while domains like culture and diplomacy have become more important battlefields in international politics. This has contributed to a feeling of insecurity since the effects of the changes are not clear, the battles are ambiguous, and the threat seems to be often ‘invisible’. In the background there is emerging competition between two state systems: authoritarian versus democracy.
The course will discuss the changes in the EU’s security environment, shed light on the conceptual ‘jungle’ relating to hybrid threats, clarify the mechanisms behind hybrid threats (in areas such as cyber; law; culture; diplomacy; critical infrastructure; information; intelligence, etc.), explore different concrete case studies and how the EU is responding to the hybrid threat activity. In addition, it will also look into the future to assess the security challenges the EU will face during the next decade. As part of the course, an important element is to engage with different strategic cultures.
Professor: Hanna Ilona SMITH