HYBRID COE'S KEY THEMES AND APPROACHES TO COUNTERING HYBRID THREATS IN 2021 - HYBRID COE
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Hybrid CoE’s
key themes and
approaches to
countering hybrid
threats in 2021
Hybrid CoEThe European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats tel. +358 400 253800 www.hybridcoe.fi
Hybrid CoE is an international hub for practitioners and experts, building participating states’ and institutions’ capabilities and
enhancing EU-NATO cooperation in countering hybrid threats located in Helsinki, Finland
2HYBRID COE’S KEY THEMES AND APPROACHES
TO COUNTERING HYBRID THREATS IN 2021
Hybrid CoE’s key goal is defined in its constitutive Hybrid CoE will also continue its close coopera-
document (Memorandum of Understanding) as tion with EU institutions (Commission, Council,
follows: “to serve as a hub of expertise supporting EEAS, European Parliament, including actors such
the Participants’ individual and collective efforts to as the Joint Research Centre and the European
enhance their civil-military capabilities, resilience Security and Defence College), and will support the
and preparedness to counter hybrid threats with incoming Council Presidencies in the Horizontal
a special focus on European security”. Hybrid CoE Working Party and in the POC meetings of the
fulfils this goal by providing a platform for its partic- Hybrid Fusion Cell. Hybrid CoE will continue its
ipants to come together, share best practices, build cooperation with NATO (including with the Hybrid
their capabilities, test new ideas and defend them- Analysis Branch and Defence Policy and Planning
selves against hybrid threats. As a hub of expertise, Division), while the annual High-Level Retreat
the Centre leads the discussion on countering bringing together leading EU and NATO officials
hybrid threats through research, the sharing of will continue to provide an informal platform for
best practices, and giving policy recommendations. discussions between the two institutions.
The Centre’s Helsinki-based office currently The work plan for 2021 can be divided into
hosts 34 staff members representing 11 different three major fields, enhancing knowledge of:
nationalities and a wide variety of professional
backgrounds. Secondments from Participating – the particular characteristics of hybrid threats
States – currently amounting to 15 experts – play and their operational logic, and making
an important role in this context as the Centre proposals to counter them;
leads and coordinates the multifaceted interna- – hybrid threat action as a part of the strategies
tional activities of Hybrid CoE. and policies of actors in charge of them, and
Hybrid CoE engages in a wide range of dynamic producing ideas on how to cope with them;
activities to ensure its leadership in promoting a – the key vulnerabilities of Western societies
greater understanding of hybrid threats. Events with respect to hybrid threats and providing
ranging from small brainstorming sessions and sets ideas on how to address them.
of consecutive workshops to large-scale meetings
and conferences are underpinned by the Centre’s Enhancing knowledge of the particular charac-
own research activities, as well as studies and teristics of hybrid threats and their operational
reports commissioned by the Centre’s academic logic, and making proposals to counter them.
and practitioner expert networks. Various forms of Hybrid CoE continues its work in studying the
training, exercises and tools provided for different particularities of hybrid threat action, both through
audiences comprise an important part of Hybrid conceptual work and by mapping the forms of
CoE’s commitment to countering hybrid threats. ongoing hybrid threat activity.
As the Centre is a network-based organization, One of the main efforts in this context takes
its networks and partnerships play a key role, and place in the Deterrence project.
will also be developed further in 2021. In 2020, The second phase of the project is currently
Hybrid CoE conducted a comprehensive mapping underway and, based on a series of case studies
of the expectations and interests of its Participating and a strategic game, seeks to develop the skills
States vis-à-vis the Centre, and this work will and understanding of practitioners in Participating
continue in various forms in 2021. States. The first phase of the project explored how
3deterrence is applied against hybrid threats and more detailed political logic behind the selection
culminated in the publication of the Deterrence of means used. The final goal of the work is to
Playbook. generate ideas on how to cope with these forms
A project on the Arctic analyzes the nature and of action.
forms of hybrid threats in and to this region. The Two key workstrands planned for 2021 will
project findings can inform the revision of the EU’s shed light on hybrid threat actors. The first is a
Joint Communication on the EU’s Arctic Policy and project launched in 2020 dealing with the strategic
ensure consideration of hybrid threats in the cultures of authoritarian states, which will also
Participating States’ Arctic policies and strategies. produce a manual on the topic in 2021.
Hybrid CoE supports the Portuguese EU pres- Another workstrand will build on earlier
idency by studying the hybrid threat challenge and work on non-state actors functioning as proxies
its elements in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood. in hybrid operations, and deepen the approach
The project consists of the preparation of a trend towards a systematic analysis of key groups of non-
report and maritime scenarios and exercises. state actors, their operational mode, and political
Another key effort to map and identify emerg- framework. The broader goal is to prepare to
ing hybrid threat activities takes the form of an mitigate, deter and prevent hybrid threats caused
internal monitoring system – Monitoring Assess- by the use of non-state actors.
ment and Reporting Group Capability (MSG) – A third workstrand with a clearly actor-centric
established in spring 2020 to monitor hybrid threat focus deals with the field of international finance
activities in the COVID-19 framework. The system and markets, where geoeconomic policies and
has produced monthly reports for the Centre’s net- tools are increasingly used as hybrid instruments.
works, focusing on thematic fields of hybrid activity. In 2021, the workstrand will produce a baseline
In 2021, the MSG will be continued with a focus on study on the theme, as well as a more detailed
general hybrid threat activities and newly emerging assessment of the use of foreign direct investment
threats and trends in particular. and money laundering as tools for hybrid action.
Hybrid CoE will also continue enhancing
knowledge of the particularities of hybrid threat Enhancing knowledge of the key vulnerabilities
action in the thematic fields of cyber and modern of Western societies with respect to hybrid
technologies. The results of an earlier project on threats and providing ideas on how to address
Hybrid Warfare: Future & Technologies them.
(HYFUTECH) will be used to increase knowledge of The third key theme for Hybrid CoE’s work
the use of modern technologies in improving in 2021 deals with identifying Western actors’
multidomain situational awareness. The cyber- vulnerabilities to hybrid threats, and with building
power project will continue to focus on the inter- resilience.
linkages between both cyber power and the cyber One of the Centre’s leading joint workstrands in
domain and hybrid action. this field deals with legal resilience and the way in
which existing normative frameworks, international
Enhancing knowledge of hybrid threat action as or national, may be used by hybrid threat actors
a part of the strategies and policies of actors in to challenge security and stability in the transat-
charge of them, and producing ideas on how to lantic community. This workstrand will firstly draw
cope with them. together the results of previous work carried out
Another key theme in the Centre’s work on the topic at the Centre, such as knowledge of
plan deals with hybrid threat action as a part of the vulnerabilities in the maritime context, or legal resil-
broader strategies and policies of actors in charge ience within the EU and NATO, as developed in a
of them. This approach is designed to enhance joint project with the University of Exeter in 2020.
knowledge of the similarities and differ-ences In 2021, earlier work on the topic will be com-
between various actors, as well as the plemented with new focus areas identifying gaps
4and vulnerabilities in legal systems that can be used comparative analysis of the approaches aims to
against Western societies to exert hybrid threats. provide best practices and to allow administrations
This work is intended to lead to recommendations to learn from each other.
for national and international actors on how to The final workstrand under the theme of
eliminate or remove vulnerabilities from legislation. enhancing resilience deals with key issues in
Hybrid CoE’s work on critical infrastructure safeguarding democratic processes. This new
will continue to address different forms of the pub- workstrand builds on earlier work on election
lic-private partnership. The goal is to bring together interference (with training events) and situational
both groups of actors to raise awareness and dis- awareness. The lessons learned during those pro-
cuss their division of labour in critical infrastructure jects will now be extended by complementing the
protection vis-à-vis hybrid threats. agenda of challenges to democracy with some new
A new topic related to broad societal vulnera- elements, and by strengthening the foundation of
bilities deals with aviation, for which the key vul- the election training activities, which will continue
nerabilities to be addressed deal with the emerging in a slightly revised form. Changes in the informa-
role of satellites and their risk potential in a hybrid tion environment are in a key position in this con-
threat context. text, and hence close cooperation with social media
An entirely new workstrand will focus on the platforms will continue in order to study and mon-
Strategies and policies of the Centre’s Partici- itor their role in hybrid operations that challenge
pating States in countering hybrid threats. democratic processes.
By highlighting similarities and differences, this
5Hybrid CoE
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