Hybrid Wars as a Security Threat in the 21st Century

Abstract

The article dwells on the phenomenon of hybrid wars as the main forming factor for the system of contemporary international relations. Traditionally, this problem has been solved by military means: the best known systems of international relations of the past were created as a result of large-scale wars. Today, however, forming new systems of international relations this way is impossible. The main obstacle is nuclear weapons, able to cause catastrophic consequences in the case of a world war. Nowadays, the main instrument for achieving domination in the global arena is hybrid warfare, whose main danger is the lack of norms and rules for conducting military operations. The danger for individual states lies in the loss of cultural and civilizational identity, while for the system of international relations, in global instability due to the increasing scale and number of hybrid wars. In conclusion, the author suggests the following solutions to the problem: adopting a programme to counter hybrid wars at the level of individual states and developing common approaches to countering hybrid wars at the level of the global community. The key role in devising the global approach should be played by the United Nations. The UN charter should be supplemented with a definition of a hybrid war and methods of countering it. Moreover, a compromise needs to be reached between the West (first of all, the USA) and Russia. According to the author, this compromise is of primary importance for the military, political, cultural, ideological spheres, etc. In these areas, the opposing parties – Russia and the West – must develop a common vision of solving global problems, first of all, the problem of hybrid wars