Hybrid Warfare or Gibridnaya Voyna?

Abstract

During the last decade, ‘hybrid warfare’ has become a much used yet controversial term in professional military and political discussions. Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis in 2014 its Russian counterpart, gibridnaya voyna, has also become very popular in professional military and academic discourse in Russia. Ofer Fridman explores Russian conceptual and theoretical publications and political analyses, showing that the only common ground between the two terms is the name. A grasp of the essential conceptual differences is vital in understanding contemporary political-security discourses in the post-Soviet region.