The information arena is today incorporated into all types of conflicts and offers, in addition to conventional methods, different approaches whose purpose is to influence and undermine their adversaries and thus shape the battlefield to their own terms. Information warfare embraces everything from propaganda and disinformation to cyber warfare where the concept's embeddedness really depends on who uses it and in what context. The term tends to spread in its meaning in the sense that the definition differs within the discipline. In order to be able to perceive, understand and counteract threats linked to information warfare, an understanding of what the concept actually means is required. This study is based on a conceptual model consisting of John Gerring's theoretical framework "Good Concepts" and aims to explore the concept of information warfare, how it is understood and elucidate its multifaceted meaning. Gerring's criteria examines the concept's underlying attributes, which emphasizes that the concept itself risks conveying different meanings. The study highlights ambiguity by identifying for instance cyberattacks, psychological operations,electronic warfare, political / strategic objectivesand a mix of different methodssuch as possible perceptions linked to information warfare. The results of the study show that an ambiguity exists within the concept of information warfare and that an understanding of the concept is of importance in the discipline of war science. In the end, it is about an understanding of the threats that accompanies the concept, but also the current need for a critical approach to how others use and interpret the concept.

In connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the building of the Swedish total defence was brought to the fore. In its focus, the Swedish government has emphasized total defence should be resilient to external threats, but without defining the concept of resilience. This study takes its starting point in trying to identify key actors' interpretation of the concept of resilience by studying key policy documents related to the development of the Swedish total defence through a qualitative text analysis. Through a theory-consuming approach, a theoretical framework has been constructed that broadens the concept of resilience in a security policy context to identify both explicit and implicit statements and representations from each actor's policy document. To identify possible differences, scientific definitions of resilience are adopted as an indicator to visualize each actor's presentation of the concept of resilience. These indicators are engineering resilience, ecological resilience, and evolutionary resilience. The results of the study show that there are differences between the central actors, the politicians, the Authority for civil protection and emergency preparedness (MSB), and the Swedish Armed Forces, in the presentation and interpretation of the concept of resilience, which may have a negative impact in implementing resilience throughout the Swedish total defence system.

Hybrid warfare and hybrid threats today represent a fundamental political challenge. Within the world of security politics, international cooperation has become a central tool with which western nations face this threat. In utilizing international cooperation in order to face hybrid threats, one should however ask whether nationally implemented methods and understandings of this threat correspond with those of other nations as a prerequisite to joint operations against hybrid threats.   This study ventures to determine if a common understanding and approach to the issue of hybrid warfare optimizes our nations preparedness, protection and response by exploring whether Sweden and Norway have implemented the same understanding of current hybrid warfare and threats. It does so by applying a theoretical framework based on hybrid warfare theory.      By analyzing current intelligence reports, military doctrines and defensive planning, this study has found that implementation of hybrid warfare does exist in both nations. This study finds that a fundamentally likeminded understanding of hybrid threats has been integrated in both Swedish and Norwegian intelligence reports, military doctrine as well as defensive planning. Furthermore, this study finds the relative, equivalent integration of hybrid threats based on current hybrid theory establishes a prerequisite for future cooperation as well as achieving synergy by having a common threat understanding.    The study does however find that further research in the field of synergistic effects in military cooperation and strategic alliances such as that between Sweden and Norway is recommended. Future research is also recommended in order to determine whether the hybrid threat understanding transcends the nations armed forces and has been integrated on a higher political level. Furthermore, future research should delve deeper into hybrid warfare theory and its geopolitical relevance.

The aim with this study is to investigate if there is a connection between Russia's hybrid warfare in Transnistria when Moldova has been governed by pro-EU politicians. The research clarifies that Russia has exploited the military in Ukraine as well as Georgia when these states have declared a willingness to work towards EU membership. However, there are fair reasons to assume that the same thing can happen in Moldova as well. There is a history with break out-regions in the post-soviet countries that Russia has used to exploit through hybrid warfare. This study merges research from Russia’s exploit in post-soviet break out regions as well as hybrid warfare, which might explain how and why Russia is using hybrid warfare in the post-soviet area. This study is a qualitative content analysis, with material from Utrikespolitiska Institutet as well as articles from East View The Current Digest of the Russian Press. That is trying to see if the timelines match Moldova’s EU politics and Russia’s hybrid warfare in Transnistria. The pattern in the analysis is clear, there is a connection, even if it is not perfect.

Abstract: The objective with this thesis is to create a deeper understanding of Hybrid Warfare and through that support the Swedish Armed Forces with encompassing their perspective. The thesis is based on a hermeneutic paradigm, an inductive approach and a qualitative method, which is inspired by Grounded Theory. The data collection in this study has been conducted through semi-structured qualitative interviews of key personnel and decision makers at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarter. We have used the two theories “Modern Warfare in War and Peace” and “Social Movement Approach” in order to obtain scientifically proof for our result. The main conclusion of this study is that Hybrid Warfare is the modern war. It is an epithet that is used to explain the characteristics in the type of Modern Warfare that we currently are facing. The other conclusions in this study is that Hybrid Warfare is a “national all of government comprehensive concept”, and a proactive concept that requires a tailor fitted approach. Hybrid Warfare is a comprehensive approach based on a Total War strategy that is used in order to achieve a state actors political aims and objectives. However it is a long-term tailor fit “all of government” concept and not a military concept. This concept is based on a proactive approach, which includes a long-term shaping of the environment, distort the situation awareness and peoples perception locally in the conflict area and globally on the world arena. The purpose with the shaping of the environment is to create legitimacy for their activities in a way that reduces the risk for sanctions and international involvement. Hybrid Warfare includes the use of social movements in order to affect and in-stabilize a state. By using social movements state actors can deny their involvement in the conflict. Hybrid Warfare is also hybrid in its nature and is based on a asymmetric approach where state and non-state resources are used in a way that manipulate the boundary between peace and war in a way makes conventional military power become obsolete. We have as an outcome of this study developed a tentative theory of Hybrid Warfare. In comparison to Hybrid War, Hybrid Threats is a latent targeting method that is used within the frames of a hybrid approach

Utgångspunkten för detta arbete är problematiken kring trovärdigheten i att verka avskräckande mot gråzonshot, med en tröskel som dimensionerats mot konventionella militära angrepp under kalla kriget. Sverige utgör studiens problemställning och fallstudien utgörs av Ukrainas tröskel och avskräckningsstrategi gentemot Rysslands angrepp och annektering av Krimhalvön 2014. Slutsatserna från fallstudien kommer att analyseras utgående från den svenska kontexten som reglerar den svenska tröskeln. Detta i syfte att identifiera vilka teoretiska förutsättningar för hur en tröskel bör konstitueras utifrån om dess syfte är att verka avhållande mot gråzonsproblematik. Studien konstaterar att en tröskel som är uppbyggd och dimensionerad mot ett konventionellt väpnat angrepp inte fyller sin funktion mot en motståndare som opererar okonventionellt inom flera samhällsdomäner utöver den militära. Detta på grund av att tröskeln inte är trovärdig i sin uppbyggnad och komposition av relevanta och kapabla förmågor som behövs för att avskräcka samt skydda sig mot gråzonshot. Tröskelns trovärdighet inom en gråzonskontext är avhängd på, utöver ovanstående, att den är väl samordnat och mandatskraftigt bemyndigad inom ramen för ett totalförsvar, och bör innefatta både militärt och civila kapabla förmågor. Utan denna brygga mellan civila och militära resurser öppnas det sårbarheter i skyddet och avskräckningen, där en gråzonsmotståndare sannolikt väljer att operera inom.

The absence of previous research regarding Russia´s use of information warfare has not been able to show if there has been a new way of adapting information warfare alongside the development in the warfare in general. The previous research has established a development in warfare by the means of information technology. This is important to understand as it constitutes an equalizer between small states and great powers in the global arena. At the same time, it is even more important to understand that the development of Russian behavior has implications on warfare in a global perspective. The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to the conclusions of previous research which predicted a transformation in the warfare and give a new view of the transformation by inspecting Russia´s use of information warfare in modern warfare and probe if there has been a change. Additional purpose of this study is to understand Russia´s way of conduct in modern conflicts and have a better ability of control in forthcoming conflicts. The method used reflects the qualitative case and is constructed as a one-case study with variation in time, using three different conflicts. The analysis is conducted by the means of operational indicators extracted from Libickis theory. The result of the study shows that Russia have changed their way of using information warfare in between all of the three conflicts, and it is not that easy to say that the use of information warfare has changed. It might depend on the situation or the opposite side and how the individual conflict occur. There is no clear answer on that question, but this essay gives a deeper view in the use of information warfare by Russia in modern conflicts.

Since the cold war, contemporary warfare is more frequently fought between state and non-state actors. The Islamic State is a non-state actor who in a short period of time reached major achievements. Some scientists consider the Islamic State’s warfare as a developing trend of irregular warfare. Despite the Islamic State’s big achievements, it seems the organisation have not been sufficiently studied from a military science perspective. There is an obvious ambiguity in how the Islamic State should be defined. One side in the debate consider the Islamic State a revolutionary actor, the other side consider them as a hybrid one. By examining witch of McCullohs theory of hybrid warfare and Guevaras theory of revolutionary warfare most adequate can describe the Islamic State; this case study aims to increase the current understanding of the Islamic State and its warfare. The analytical result shows that the Islamic State is more adequate described as a hybrid actor. There are many similarities between the two theories, however there are some essential differences that supports the result of this paper. The use of terrorism, the relationship with the population and the use of urban terrain proves that the Islamic State is more adequate described as a hybrid actor.

Hybrid warfare is the topic of many discussions in the modern conflicts today. However, there is not a unified definition that explains what hybrid warfare really is. Swedish doctrines and principles say that an attack towards Sweden will include hybrid methods in the gap between peace and war. This paper examines Russia's use of hybrid warfare in Ukraine 2014 and how Ukraine's fundamental abilities got affected. The purpose with this paper is to contribute to a better understanding about hybrid warfare. But also, to use the fundamental abilities as a theory to provide for a better understanding how Sweden can counter hybrid methods in a future attack. The analytic results reveal that the fundamental abilities were affected differently in the annexation of Crimea and the battles in eastern Ukraine. However, it can still be used as a theory to analyse hybrid methods in both scenarios. The results also provide a better understanding of hybrid warfare. To contribute to Sweden's defence against hybrid methods, the fundamental abilities as a theory should be modernised and used to provide security and preparation for the Swedish defence in a future attack.

I ett modernt samhälle har icke-militära medel blivit en av hybridkrigföringens viktigaste delar. Stater kan utsättas för samordnade hybrida angrepp som kan få krigsliknande konsekvenser utan att militära medel används. Samtida forskning har ett militärt perspektiv av hybridkrigföring trots att det är de brottsbekämpande myndigheterna som har det betydande ansvaret och som står i frontlinjen för att möta hybrida hot. Studiens syfte är att bredda förståelsen och perspektivet av hybridkrigföring genom att analysera brottsbekämpande myndigheter och specifikt Polismyndighetens förståelse och roll. Studien har en induktiv ansats och empiriskt material har inhämtats genom intervjuer med stöd av strategiskt urval och analyserats genom tematisk analys. Hybridhot ingår implicit i polisens uppdrag och med anledning av en förändrad hotbild har de en organisation som är bättre rustad än tidigare att möta hybrida angrepp. Studien styrker tidigare forskning om att hybrida hot behöver mötas med en allomfattande strategi och att det kan behövas olika strategier mot hybridkrigföring kontra hybridhot. Med stöd i Polislagen har polisen förmågor som utgör en stark grund att möta hybrida hoti fred som krig. För att bekämpa hybrida hot ser Polismyndigheten behovet av att inte särskilja på inre motyttre säkerhet. Den totala säkerheten anser de upprätthålls genom ett brett och fördjupat samarbete nationellt som transnationellt. Studien belyser Polismyndighetens nuvarande förståelse och kapacitet i arbetet mot hybrida hot. Studienbidrar till forskningen genom att öka kunskaperna om hybridkrigföring och hybridhot genom att tillföra ett polisärt perspektiv.