ACTORS OF HYBRID THREATS: SYMBIOTICS AND DETERMINATION OF INDIVIDUAL DETERMINANTS

Abstract

The article comprehensively researches and highlights the symbiosis and definition of individual determinants of hybrid threat actors. The author concludes that advances in social media and cyber tools have expanded the possibilities of influencing and manipulating target audiences, and they have clearly been used by state actors in hybrid campaigns. To some extent, this also applies to organizations such as the Islamic State, which are driven by radical, anti-democratic agendas to punish “infidels” and “heretical lifestyles” in the West, and promote their agendas among Western countries. But the ability to carry out such actions to harm Western societies has so far been limited, with the exception of terrorist attacks by supporters inspired by the propaganda and narratives spread by such organizations. However, the activities of radical followers of conservative Salafi/ Jihadist ideology can serve as an example of a clear and growing challenge to the hybrid nature. Attention is focused on the fact that the international security environment is clearly changing and developing, and hybrid threats are closely related to this, because security itself as a concept is not very clearly defined and is also constantly evolving. All of this suggests that states’ exploitation of non-state actors embedded in a target state or target audience as a force multiplier is likely to be an integral and growing part of the manifestation of hybrid threats in the future. However, when malicious activity occurs in a coordinated and systematic manner, it is very likely that non-state actors will almost always be involved, and the initial ability to understand whether this activity is connected to covert state direction and support will be very limited. Therefore, from various perspectives, not least the political one, knowing who is the initiator of malicious events will be extremely important in determining the response and how to counter hybrid threats in the future. For this reason, it is imperative for academics and researchers not only to focus on current events related to the activities of states in the field of hybrid threats, but also to achieve a better understanding of the diversity of hybrid threats in order to be able to counter the constant manifestations of future challenges to national and international security and limit their influence.