Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

I DENNA ARTIKEL kommer defensiven att belysas utifrån två olika perspektiv och genom två historiska exempel tagna från första respektive andra världskriget. Inledningsvis betraktas defensiven utifrån försvararen perspektiv och med ett exempel från Estland (Narva) 1944. Efter en historik bakgrundsbeskrivning, där bl a doktrinutvecklingen beskrivs, följer ett avsnitt avseende doktrin- och reglementsjämförelse mellan dåtida tyska och nutida svenska reglementen. Vi har i den delen valt att som metod söka efter vissa militärteoretiska indikatorer – fyra typiska begrepp inom defensiv och offensiv strid – för att diskutera likheter och olikheter mellan dåtid och nutid. De fyra valda begreppen är eldens (verkans) betydelse, terrängens betydelse, djupets betydelse och slutligen reservernas betydelse. Jämförelsen appliceras sedan på det taktiska exemplet innan denna del avslutas med en kort sammanfattning.

Utgångsläget för texten är att terräng är en viktig del av fältövningar och att terrängen kan ses från olika perspektiv. Syftet med föreliggande text är att visa på att den för krigföring så viktiga terrängen kan problematiseras och teoretiseras för att ge fruktbara idéer på dess användande, dess natur men också analys av den.

The international security environment has seemingly departed from a post-cold war period of everlasting peace and has instead evolved into a volatile and increasingly grey area of war and peace. Security challenges arising from both hybrid wars and hybrid threats are high on security agendas in Sweden and Europe as well as internationally. However, despite the attention there is a lack of research that addresses how such “new” wars and threats should be handled. While studies do exist on specific issues, a comprehensive approach to how hybrid wars and threats are to be handled is still lacking. This is particularly the case when it comes to the sharing of experiences between states. This workshop constituted a first step towards developing such a comprehensive approach.

The workshop’s aim was to be a bridge across disciplinary boundaries as well as between researchers and practitioners within and outside Sweden; integrating each group’s extensive experiences and knowledge into a coherent whole. Besides producing and disseminating new knowledge, the intention of the workshop was to establish a foundation for long-term collaboration; the first step in the creation of a European Network on Hybrid Warfare Capabilities that can work across borders and link state of the art of research and practice.

Although mainly a scientific workshop, a number of practitioners were invited, with a mix of presentations by academics and practitioners. This was intended to foster innovative and reflective discussions across the academic-practitioner divide. The workshop also aimed to develop new ideas associated with hybrid threats/warfare in order to facilitate future cooperation

These proceedings include a summary of the key points made by the presenters, along with conclusions and policy recommendations derived from the ensuing discussions. Conference programme and a list of abstracts for the papers and presentations can be found in the appendix.

This article discusses a new form of war, ‘Hybrid War’, under inclusion of aspects of ‘cyber-terrorism’ and ‘cyber-war’ before the backdrop of Russia’s ‘Ukrainian Spring’ and the continuing threat posed by radical Islamist groups in Africa and the Middle East. It discusses the findings of an on-going Hybrid Threat project by the Swedish National Defence College. This interdisciplinary article predicts that military doctrines, traditional approaches to war and peace and its perceptions will have to change in the future.

This book uses Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory as a lens through which to examine military operations. Novel in its approach, this innovative text provides a better, more nuanced understanding of the modern ‘battlespace’, particularly in instances of prolonged low-intensity conflict. Formed in two parts, this book primarily explores the scope of Bourdien theory before secondly providing a detailed case study of the Yugoslavian succession war of 1990-1992. Gunneriusson suggests that although theories do not necessarily provide answers, they do help us ask better questions. This volume suggests news lines of interdisciplinary investigation that will be of interest to members of armed forces, practitioners from NGOs, and policymakers.

The 2015 Russian National Security Strategy aims to achieve autarky from Western influences on global security, the rule of law, and global trade. By applying a holistic mix of military, political, and economic means to weaken the West, Russia is working hard to strengthen its own role as a global player. Militarily, Russia makes good use of Hybrid War against its Western neighbors, as seen in its intervention in Syria and in its efforts to undermine NATO and the EU.

The Russian National Security Strategy of 2015 aims at achieving autarky from Western influences on global security, the rule of law and global trade. Russia aims at attaining this by applying a holistic mix of military, political and economic means to weaken the West and to strengthen its own role as a global player. The Russian approach builds on a strategy of reflexive control which as such is an old method, but the outcome of the application of this approach results in hybrid warfare which as such is a new emerging concept of warfighting. This short article looks at one particular aspect of this Russian strategy, namely using Hybrid, or non-linear, Warfare against its Western direct neighbours in particular and the West in general. We will discuss the underlying cultural logic in Russia’s actions and will reflect on the impact of Russia’s utilization of the existing cultural asymmetry as a form of warfare in regard to the West. The examples used in this text are taken from the context of the conflicts of Ukraine and Syria, but have to be seen as constituting a part of an on-going global conflict aimed at NATO and the EU. The text builds on years of research within the hybrid threat, warfare respectively, context by both authors.

This article focuses on the definition, implementation and testing of a model to describe Hybrid Conflict Environments. Without the need of citing specific cases or countries, it is clear that hybrid strategy and warfare are becoming more important. A hybrid strategy can affect policy makers, military operations, economics and financial trends, intelligence and legal activities as well as information and media. A conceptual model is introduced to define and to gain further insight into hybrid environments. The model is then implemented and tested by running experiments to provide evidence on its relevance. Finally, results are presented and discussed.