Countering Hybrid Warfare in Central and Eastern Europe
Vulnerable States in the Grip of the Russian-Ukrainian War
Przemysław Gasztold editor Bogdan Teodor editor Matthew Crosston editor Mihaela Teodor editor Gintaras Labutis editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
Publishing:16th Feb '27
£171.99
This title is due to be published on 16th February, and will be despatched as soon as possible.
Countering Hybrid Warfare in Central and Eastern Europe examines hybrid warfare in Central and Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine. It approaches hybrid warfare as the coordinated use of diverse instruments to exploit vulnerabilities and shape decision-making below the conventional war.
Bringing together contributions from diverse disciplinary and regional backgrounds, the book introduces the vulnerable-state concept and challenges assumptions that vulnerability is equivalent to weakness and fragility. The case-studies of Moldova, Serbia, Austria, and Czechia show that vulnerability is not distributed simply according to state size, alliance membership, or formal institutional stability. Instead, hybrid strategies exploit the grey zone between resilience and fragility, while vulnerable states also adapt, resist, and learn under constraint. Methodologically, the book combines qualitative case studies, discourse analysis, policy evaluation, and threat assessment, drawing extensively on local sources that are not always accessible to English-language scholarship. This interdisciplinary approach reflects the complexity of hybrid warfare itself, which transcends conventional academic boundaries.
By integrating theoretical frameworks with sustained empirical, the volume speaks to both scholarly and policy-oriented audiences regardless of their location or orientation. The book will be of interest to researchers and policymakers concerned with hybrid threats, resilience, European security, and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“At a time when hybrid warfare tests the resilience of democracies across Europe, Countering Hybrid Warfare in Central and Eastern Europe provides a much-needed analysis of both vulnerability and resistance. Examining hybrid warfare as a multidimensional challenge that extends far beyond the military sphere helps to adapt and to strengthen democratic discussions." Thomas WEGENER FRIIS - Director of Center for Cold War Studies at the South Denmark University - Executive Director of the International Intelligence History Association
“Countering Hybrid Warfare in Central and Eastern Europe provides a multidimensional analysis of the region's security landscape and examines hybrid warfare from an operational perspective. The book provides regional context through case studies of Poland, Lithuania, and Romania and is rich in diverse methodological approaches. This book is great for practitioners and academics and valuable for its practical insights into resilience.” Vira Ratsiborynska - Professor, Vrije University Brussels, Belgium.
“As a security studies scholar, I regard this volume as a timely and intellectually significant contribution to the study of hybrid warfare, vulnerable states, and the evolving security environment of Central and Eastern Europe. The volume’s strength lies in its combination of conceptual innovation, regional expertise, and policy relevance. By moving beyond generic accounts of hybrid threats, the book offers a nuanced and empirically grounded framework for understanding how external actors exploit institutional, societal, informational, and strategic vulnerabilities across different national and regional contexts. Its central concept of the “vulnerable state” is especially valuable because it avoids simplistic distinctions between strong and weak, small and big states and instead captures the domain-specific and relational nature of exposure in contemporary security competition. It deserves close attention from anyone seeking to grasp the complex security consequences of Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Claudia Anamaria IOV - Lecturer PhD at Babes-Bolyai University - Department of International Studies and Contemporary History - Expert in International relations, geopolitics and security studies.
ISBN: 9781041390374
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
264 pages