Building a common response to hybrid threats
Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies conducted this Re-granting project on hybrid threats together with WatchDog.MD (Moldova), Eurasia Partnership Foundation (Armenia), and Ukrainian Core. The project partners aimed at assessing hybrid threats in the EaP region, asking the research question: What are hybrid threats and how can they be addressed?
The project envisaged the creation of a team of experts from Georgia, Moldova, Armenia and Ukraine, which would travel to the capital cities of the mentioned states and meet all relevant stakeholders from government, parliament and civil society. The meetings resulted in the collection of all necessary information, opinions and ideas on the state of institutional and legal measures taken in the countries on countering existing hybrid threats.
The sources of the new hybrid threats predominantly aim at discrediting and weakening the motivation of the EaP partner states to further integrate with the EU. Indeed, EaP partner states understand the importance of this cooperation and are interested in countering, jointly where possible, any adverse action or attempt to disengage them from that process.
To effectively counter the hybrid threats, a joining of efforts of official bodies and non-state actors is required. It also needs reinforced international cooperation on a government and civil society level. The paper recommends the governments to establish active cooperation among and with the EU countries with the aim of analyzing, exchanging knowledge and countering jointly, where appropriate, hybrid threats. The cooperation should target the development of an appropriate legal environment and adequate institutional capacity. Civil society itself should become more organized and consolidated.
Available for download
Policy paper «Hybrid Threats in EaP Countries — Building a Common Response», Gogolashvili, Pașa, Hovhannisyan, Ohiienko et al., 2019
Policy paper «Countering Hybrid Threats: Stronger Role for Civil Society in post-2020 EaP Roadmap», Gogolashvili, Pașa, Hovhannisyan, Ohiienko et al., 2019