Russia and ‘hybrid warfare’

Renz, Bettina

Abstract

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. In the aftermath of the Crimea annexation in March 2014, the idea of ‘hybrid warfare’ quickly gained prominence as a concept that could help to explain the success of Russian military operations in this conflict. Although the concept continues to enjoy widespread popularity in both scholarly and policy circles, its utility as an analytical tool is also heavily contested. This article adds to the literature critical of the ‘hybrid warfare’ concept. It argues that in addition to the fact that what is now described as a ‘hybrid’ approach to war is nothing new, the problems pertaining to its utility for the study of contemporary Russia go deeper than this. ‘Hybrid warfare’ inadequately reflects the direction of Russian military modernisation and as such has led to a skewed understanding of Russian military capabilities. Moreover, the tendency to use ‘hybrid warfare’ not only to conceptualise developments in the Russian military, but in the country’s foreign policy in general, can lead to serious unintended consequences.

Citation

Renz, B. (2016). Russia and ‘hybrid warfare’. Contemporary Politics, 22(3), 283-300. https://doi.org/10.1080/13569775.2016.1201316

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 13, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Jun 25, 2016
• Publication Date: Jul 2, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jul 12, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 12, 2016
• Journal: Contemporary Politics
• Print ISSN: 1356-9775
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-3631
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 283-300
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13569775.2016.1201316
• Keywords: Hybrid warfare, Russia, strategy, Putin, foreign policy, NATO
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/793609
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13569775.2016.1201316
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=ccpo20