THE CONCEPT OF HYBRID WARFARE IN THE CONTEXT OF RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY
Pavel Usov
Studia Politica Slovaca, 2026, vol. 19, no. 1, p. 23-42
Language: English
DOI: https://doi.org/10.31577/SPS.2026-1.2
Abstract
Due to the development of modern technologies and new methods of influencing people and State policies, the nature of these wars has changed significantly. As a result of the series of aggressive wars that Russia has implemented in the last decade against both its former colonial republics and in the global space, we are confronted with the phenomenon of hybrid warfare. Hybrid warfare has evolved into a global political, ideological, and strategic confrontation, requiring a deeper understanding of its goals, structure, and mechanisms. Hybrid warfare is not a form of military action, but a multi-vector political, cultural, and informational impact on society and the state to capture it or establish a loyal regime for an aggressive state. It is assumed that, as its initial goal, hybrid warfare lays the groundwork for implementing a policy or a set of political influences (elections, sabotage, crises) that will allow the aggressor state to avoid an open armed conflict. At the same time, hybrid warfare does not exclude the use of armed means of influence, if necessary, as an extreme measure to seize the territory of another state. It must be understood that one of the main goals of hybrid warfare is to achieve specific geopolitical objectives: territorial expansion, military presence, and the destruction of political power, while concealing the aggressor state’s interference and intentions.
Keywords
hybrid war, Russia, post-Soviet space, aggression, electoral campaign, influence, geopolitical interests, global conflict, international relations, artificial intelligence, internet
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