Recognition, regulation and countering hybrid threats in NATO and the EU

Abstract

Introduction. Eff ective development of legal provisions for countering hybrid threats in the context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine should pressuppose studying the relevant experience of leading international organizations and the compatibility of Ukrainian legislation with the EU and NATO as fa as the European and Euro-Atlantic choice is stated in the Constitution. The aim of the article is to summarize the development and current state of legal provisions for countering hybrid threats in NATO and EU strategic documents, as well as to identify and analyze the main concepts of these documents that defi ne their legal ideology. Results. The article presents a generalized vision of the legal framework for countering hybrid threats in NATO and EU strategy documents based on the application of dogmatic and comparative analysis methods, as well as reconstruction and structural-functional approach. Conclusions. NATO’s legal provisions in the fi eld of countering hybrid threats were characterized by formal restrictions of the understanding of security and attack mainly by military issues. But since 2014, NATO’s regulations have consistently developed the concepts of resilience and civilian preparedness, blurring the lines between hybrid, natural and man-made threats. Like NATO, the EU since 2015 declares countering hybrid threats primarily the responsibility of member states, but is responsible for coordinating their policies, setting and enforcing unifi ed standards, gathering information and conducting forward-looking analytical research. Key words: hybrid threats, hybrid war, law of international organizations, law of international security, resilience, civil preparedness.