Conflicts of the 21st century based on multidimensional warfare – “hybrid warfare”, disinformation and manipulation

Abstract

According to H. Schiller, manipulation is a tool of conquest. The oldest forms of manipulation were ideologies. Fabrice d'Almeida referred to manipulation appearing in the eighteenth century, but, according to Schiller, it appeared in the nineteenth century with the discountenance of physical oppression. The use of manipulation as a tool for fighting intensified after 1945. Nowadays, manipulation has changed when it comes to factors such as the strength of impact, range, and multitude. An important factor influencing the use of manipulation is modern technology. New environmental conditions influence the character and typology of conflicts. Changes in the environmental conditions enlarge the field of possible threats. Nowadays, we can observe that contemporary conflicts have a large complex scale, which has been extended by globalisation, the information age, advanced technologies and a new division of power in the world. Multidimensional methods of conducting modern warfare pose a threat, not only to soldiers, but also to civilians and societies as the whole. "Hybrid warfare" presents a unique combination of threats: conventional military operations, asymmetric warfare, irregular operations, terrorism, cyber threats and other tactics. "Hybrid warfare", disinformation and manipulation blur the term of war and make it imprecise in the field of international law. The described activities require a multidimensional approach from all countries.