Consideration of innovation of hybrid warfare concept

Abstract

Hybrid warfare is a new term that attempts to include and highlight all the specifics of contemporary conflicts in the first two decades of the 21st century. This attractive term has become very popular in the wider context of media and political circles whereas opinion on this issue is divided in the professional public. In order to understand the main idea of hybrid warfare, it is useful to start from the classic concept of war as the continuation of politics by other means. Innovative approach and logical analysis can be used to consider a wide range and variety of other non-military means and methods that transfer conflict from the sphere of political relations to other areas: economic, financial, transport, informational, media, cultural, religious, sports. Comparative processes of globalization and technological development, especially in the sphere of information and communication technologies, combined with other factors, offer new opportunities and fertile ground for hybrid warfare. However, the main idea and contents of hybrid warfare are not completely new, but they have been applied earlier under the other name. The term special war, psychological war and propaganda can be found in older national sources. The purpose of this paper is to compare new and old concepts in the understanding of conflicts for the purpose of clearer perception of current issues and adequate comprehension of new terminology.

Keywords

• hybrid warfare
• special war
• security
• decision-making