Identity, stability, Hybrid Threats and Disinformation

Abstract

The following article examines the relevance of gender and intersectional analyses to better understanding hybrid threats, in particular those that are increasingly targeting civilian environments. The authors first present relevant concepts including hybrid threats and warfare, resilience, disinformation, civilian agency, and intersectionality as a method. Thereafter they discuss how disinformation is used to destabilise societies by directly attacking civilian spaces and attempting to foment polarisation and unrest, if not conflict. The authors then discuss how the concepts of disinformation and civilian agency are illuminated through gender and intersectional analyses, speaking to complex, civilian contexts by examining how gender (and race) have been employed to attempt to foment destabilisation. They conclude with some brief reflections about the role of gender and intersectional approaches in understanding hybrid threats and warfare, not just in Europe but also for other parts of the world.