Hybrid and Cyber War as Consequences of the Asymmetry: A Comprehensive Approach Answering Hybrid Actors and Activities in Cyberspace- Political, Social and Military Responses

Current and future adversaries will likely simultaneously employ a combination of different types of warfare. Non-state actors may mostly employ irregular forms of warfare, but will also clearly support, encourage, and participate in conventional conflicts if it serves their ends to do so. Similarly, nation-states may well engage in irregular conflicts in addition to conventional types of warfare to achieve their goals. The emerging theaters of hybrid and cyber-warfare reflect this changing nature of contemporary warfare. They transcend national boundaries, social and economic classes, and political ideologies. In these types of warfare there are no longer any clearly defined enemies, just as there are no longer any clearly defined allies. As a conceptual response to this kind of warfare, the «comprehensive approach» offers the best path forward, but must still be fully refined and analyzed before being applied effectively. This can only be accomplished through a coordinated and coherent strategy, along with regular consultations and interaction among all the actors involved. These factors will not only have enduring consequences for the future structure and training of most armed forces in the world, but they will also affect the politics of international security and defense policy while posing a challenge for theories of politics and international relations. This volume brings together leading international experts from different schools of thought to provide an overview of this topic.

Josef Schröfl, born in Austria 1962, is Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces. He joined the Army in 1982, followed by several command functions including a tour with the UN 1994-1996 (UNDOF/Syria). 1998-2002 he commanded the honorable «Hoch- und Deutschmeister» battalion in Vienna. He studied International Politics at the University of Vienna and is Fulbright Graduated University of Delaware (2005). Present Posting at the Austrian MOD, Military Strategy Division. The author has published several books on Countering Terrorism, Homeland Security, Asymmetries, Asymmetric Warfare and Strategic Cultures. His specialization is in international relations, future of conflict and war as well as Asymmetric and Cyber War.
Bahram M. Rajaee, born in the USA in 1970, is Director at the University of Delaware’s Institute for Global Studies and Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations; PhD in Political Science. Present posting at the US State Department. He has published research in the Middle East Journal, International Politics, and Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East as well as several book chapters. His specialization is in US foreign and strategic policy in Southwest Asia, the international relations of Southwest Asia, Iranian politics and foreign policy, and US-Iranian relations.
Dieter Muhr, born in Austria in 1962, is Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces, General Staff, National Director Austria for Multinational Experiment 5, 6 and 7, and co-author of a study report for Multinational experiment 6 «Dealing with Actors and Compliance in Intervention Operations in a Non-permissive Hybrid Environment».