Adaptive Strategies for the Protection of Civilians (PoC) in Hybrid Warfare – Dian Anshar

Program Doktor Kajian Stratejik Global
Sekolah Kajian Stratejik dan Global
Universitas Indonesia

Literature Study II: Adaptive Strategies for the Protection of Civilians (PoC) in Hybrid Warfare – Dian Anshar

Strategi Adaptif untuk Perlindungan Warga Sipil (PoC) dalam Peperangan Hibrida
Hybrid warfare presents various unprecedented challenges to the protection of civilians (PoC). These challenges mainly occur because hybrid warfare often operates beyond conventional methods of war and hence disregards compliance with the Protection of Civilians (PoC) as part of norms under International Humanitarian Law.
Hybrid warfare is an emerging phenomenon and concept that has been increasingly discussed and used among the security community and scholars in the last two decades. The wars in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Syria, Hamas-Israel, and Russia-Ukraine have been characterised as hybrid warfare, generally defined as the blending and blurring of military and non-military methods. This approach employs both conventional and irregular tactics, conducted openly or covertly, to weaken and dominate enemy forces or states.
This study will investigate the complexities and challenges faced in applying the Protecting of Civilians framework within the context of hybrid warfare. It will also study the adaptive strategies employed by humanitarian actors to address the challenges in implementing PoC measures. The research will critically assess existing PoC frameworks, identify gaps and weaknesses, gather lessons learned and best practices, and propose a more advanced adaptive strategy to enhance PoC in hybrid conflict scenarios.
Adopting a qualitative methodology and a case study design, this research focuses on the experiences of key humanitarian actors in order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the hybrid warfare phenomenon and its implications for civilian protection.