Hybrid Containment: The Strategy of the 21st Century
The third session of the conference – “Hybrid Containment: The Strategy of the 21st Century” – was moderated by
Brian Whitmore, Senior Fellow and Director of the Russia Program at CEPA. Panelists addressed the challenge posed by the constantly evolving hybrid threats developed with the emergence of new technology.
Audun Halvorsen, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Norway, opened the panel by identifying the dangers posed by non-kinetic threats, which are tailored to remain below traditional kinetic response thresholds, and provided three practical steps to remaining vigilant to these pressures: awareness, resilience, and cooperation.
Jānis Kažocins, National Security Advisor of Latvia, emphasized the dangerous implications of the combination of kinetic with non-kinetic threats, specifically coming from the East. He also highlighted the importance of raising societal resilience in order to combat these tactics.
Tomáš Petříček, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, stressed the necessity to increase the costs of these operations and decrease their impact on our societies through exposure, the will to respond, and a well-educated public. Finally, Indrek Sirp, Director of the National Security and Defense Coordination of the Government Office of Estonia, testified to positive developments in Europe’s response to hybrid threats, but encouraged more action to be taken in societal, governmental, and military sectors.