NATO’s Achilles Heel: Russian Political Warfare

March 21, 2018 Topic: Security Region: Eurasia Blog Brand: The Buzz Tags: NATORussiaInformation WarfareHybrid Warfare

NATO’s Achilles Heel: Russian Political Warfare

NATO must overcome its eclipsing bias of seeing the Russian threat as one of aircraft and tanks to one of malware and spies.

This summit will be another historic milestone for the alliance to determine NATO’s future. Given that most resources at the alliance’s disposal demonstrate a proclivity toward conventional military thinking, NATO must embrace its status as a second mover, and prioritize the implementation of a new approach or risk fading into irrelevance. In short, it must grapple with political warfare.

LeAnne N. Howard is a student at the U.S. Naval War College. Derek S. Reveron is a professor in the National Security Affairs department at the U.S. Naval War College. These are the authors’ personal views and do not reflect the official position of the Department of Defense.

Image: A Norwegian Air Force F-16 fighter plane patrols over the Baltics during a NATO air policing mission from Zokniai air base, Lithuania, May 20, 2015. Reuters/Ints Kalnins