Hybrid Threats: A European Response

This chapter looks at how the EU and NATO respond to hybrid threats. The chapter starts with a brief discussion of the hybrid terminology. It then analyses the EU response to hybrid threats, focusing on the issue of situation and information awareness and the concept of resilience, and using the dimension of strategic communications and the fight against disinformation and fake news as an exemplary case. Finally, the chapter examines the role of NATO and the EU-NATO relationship. The chapter argues that while significant progress has been made regarding how European states and international organisations defend themselves against hybrid threats and tactics, the key question is whether this progress is sustainable in the long run, given the long-standing issues of diverging threat perceptions and problems related to policy implementation and policy consistency.