| Summary: | The concept of ‘hybrid warfare’ is often used to describe modern conflicts that
are characterised by the involvement of multiple warfighting domains (e.g.,
conventional forces, irregulars, political and cyber warfare), most prominently being
the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. However, the concept has also come under scrutiny,
with critics highlighting the concept’s flaw in its logic, historical foundation, as well as
practical utilities. As such, this paper looks upon Andre Beaufre’s concept of ‘indirect
strategy’ as an alternative to hybrid warfare. This paper explores both concepts
thoroughly, followed by judging them using John Gerring’s eight-point criterion of
conceptual quality and Lukas Milevski’s rule of transferability between systemic
theory to concept and practice. This paper found indirect strategy to be better in both
rubrics – possessing greater depth, coherence, and differentiation, as well as
transferability given its roots in an established strategic theory. This is illustrated as the
concept allows greater depth of analysis and judgment of the Russia-Ukraine war
dynamics, as compared to hybrid warfare. Ultimately, this paper concludes that
indirect strategy is a superior concept that offers greater academic and practical use.
|
|---|