Hybrid Threats (13 OCT 2021)

A Civil-Military Response to Hybrid Threats

Hybrid Threats and how to respond to those have become a growing challenge throughout recent years.

The experts Mr Chris Kremidas-Courtney, Senior Fellow for peace, security, and defence at the organisation Friends of Europe, Ms Maria Sofia Macedo, Analyst for counter Hybrid Warfare at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) Deterrence Group, and Mr Adam Malewicz, Senior Specialist Analyst leading and coordinating the work of the analyst section in J9 (CIMIC) Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE) discussed the conceptual definitions and understandings of Hybrid Threats while putting them into a real-world context.

They engaged in a one and a half-hour presentation round, in which all three experts shared their knowledge and understanding on the subject of Hybrid Threats. The seminar concluded with a half an hour question and answer session, where participants were encouraged to address the speakers for more details.

Initial orientation was provided to the audience and speakers by the provision of the following guiding questions:

How to define Hybrid Threats?
What are strategies to counter Hybrid Threats?
What is the Centre of Gravity in a hybrid environment?
How does Civil-Military Cooperation respond to Hybrid Threats?

Feel invited to discover background information about the seminar and our speakers by approaching the speakers’ presentations and biographies as well as the seminar minutes and video recordings.

For a short and comprehensive introduction, feel free to watch NATO Experts | What is NATO doing to address Hybrid Threats?

If you are interested in how to respond to Hybrid Threats, we would recommend you to join our upcoming seminar ‘Societal Resilience’.

Mr Chris Kremidas-Courtney

Mr Chris Kremidas-Courtney is a senior fellow for peace, security, and defence at the organisation “Friends of Europe”. He is also a lecturer at the Institute for Security Governance in Monterey, California, a lecturer at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, and adjunct faculty for the Stratcom hybrid program at Rey Juan Carlos University in Madrid. He served for 32 years in various positions at the different US-\ and multilateral organisations, including US European Command, the Hybrid COE, and different NATO Training Missions. In recent years, he designed and ran high-level EU-NATO hybrid and disinformation exercises. Now Chris leads the Friends of Europe’s hybrid and resilience efforts, which feature an annual EU-NATO private sector hybrid resilience exercise. Chris gave an excellent presentation on:

Countering Hybrid Threats: What can CIMIC do?

Useful links:

Ms Maria Sofia Macedo

Ms Maria Sofia Macedo is an Analyst for Counter Hybrid Warfare at SHAPE’s Deterrence Group, within the Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Centre. In her role, she is responsible for the wider Allied Command Operations’ Hybrid Warfare Working Group. Prior to this position, she worked for the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Portuguese Delegation to NATO. Sofia holds a Master’s Degree in Strategy from the Institute of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Lisbon. So, she also has an academic interest in decision-making processes, strategic culture and hybrid warfare. Sofia shared her expertise on:

Civil-Military Cooperation as a Way to Counter Hybrid Activity: A SHAPE Perspective

Useful links:

Mr Adam Malewicz

Mr Adam Malewicz is a Senior Specialist Analyst leading and coordinating the work of the analyst section in J9 HQ MNC NE. He graduated from Military Academy. He also studied Economics and Psychology both at the University in Szczecin in Poland. After completing his military service, Mr Malewicz accepted a proposal to create an analytical cell in HQ MNC NE. He currently conducts an information analysis on political, social, and economic spheres. Therefore, he contributes to a holistic view and understanding of the civil environment in the dedicated Area of Operation. Adam provided his expert views on:

Hybrid Threats perception in MNC NE’s Area of Operation

CCOE Publication

For more information, you might also like the CCOE’s publication ‘A Civil-Military Response to Hybrid Threats’, ISBN 9783319607986