Civilizational Dynamics of "Hybrid Warfare"

Authors

Stephen T. SatkiewiczFollow

Keywords

Cold War, hybrid warfare

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War, analysts have struggled to make sense of the proliferation of smaller scale conflicts. Several labels have been used to describe this phenomenon, the most recent being “Hybrid Warfare.” This paper attempts to analyze them through the perspective of civilizational theory.

Very rarely, however, have the civilizational dimensions to these "Hybrid Wars" been extensively addressed. Considering that civilizations represent collective identities on perhaps the most macro-scale, they play an important potential dimension in this ongoing debate. Avoiding any gross simplified variation of a "clash of civilizations" type thesis, a civilizational perspective into this debate can also shed significant insight into the nature of intra-civilizational conflicts and how they might also overlap with any inter-civilizational conflicts.

A civilizational perspective also raises the critical issue of the persistence of collective identities, even in an increasingly globalized world.

Recommended Citation

Satkiewicz, Stephen T. (2020) "Civilizational Dynamics of "Hybrid Warfare"," Comparative Civilizations Review: Vol. 83: No. 83, Article 17.
Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/ccr/vol83/iss83/17