Theoretical and Ideological Approaches to Studying the Phenomenon of “Hybrid Wars” and “Hybrid Threats”: Russia’s Perspective

Abstract

The article analyzes the phenomenon of “hybrid wars” and “hybrid threats” in the context of military-political strategies of the USA and through the lens of military, political and informational environment between Russia and the West. The authors note that there is no common approach among foreign military experts to understanding the problem. Some of them view Russia as a state that has created its own “hybrid war” strategy, and assume that “hybrid threats” to sovereign states posed by Moscow are real, while others reject as erroneous the assumption that Russia has created and pursued a “hybrid strategy” in a purposeful way. The authors conclude that, in the absence of a clear and consistent defi nition of these phenomena, the understanding of “hybrid wars” and “hybrid threats” depends on ideological perception of international political processes and experts’ interpretation of relations between Russia and the West.

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