Publication Date
Spring 2025
Abstract
As state and non-state actors become more interconnected through the advent of sophisticated technology, diverse forms of media, and the development of digital infrastructure, new threats of a hybrid nature are emerging. The international humanitarian law (IHL) community is reassessing how IHL can apply and adapt to the hybridity of non-traditional warfare. This research paper explores the challenges to IHL surging from two branches of hybrid security threats: cognitive/psychological operations and cyber operations. Through interviews with experts in the fields of IHL, international law, cybersecurity, and international relations, along with the analysis of secondary sources and central IHL treaties (the Geneva Conventions, Protocols Additional to the Geneva Conventions, the UN Charter), this paper delves into the principles of attribution, proportionality, causality, and distinction that pose challenges to the applicability of IHL. This project finds that key aspects of IHL can be applied to hybrid operations and examines the future pathways IHL community leaders can take to better address these emerging security threats. However, work remains in illuminating the often “invisible” perpetrators behind hybrid attacks and bringing non-state actors into the conversation.
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Ahn, Barrett, "Courting a New International Order: The Evolution of the International Humanitarian Law Community on Addressing Hybrid Security Threats" (2025). Switzerland: International Studies and Multilateral Diplomacy. 11.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/szg2/11