Hybrid War

The Ummah's unity has been shattered by the divide-and-rule machinations of the US through its "Global War on Terror", seemingly rendering the dream of pragmatic geopolitical cooperation between the world's majority-Muslim states a political fantasy. The so-called "Clash of Civilizations" hasn't just been weaponized to provoke inter-civilizational conflicts, but also intra-civilizational ones too, which in the Ummah's case took the form of violent sectarianism. While "conventional knowledge" would suggest that there's no surmounting these obstacles in the near future, Iran might actually be able to pioneer a breakthrough if it revives and reforms the Old Cold War-era CENTO alliance of itself, Pakistan, Turkey, and Iraq in order to symbolically contradict the sectarian trend and enter into mutually beneficial strategic relations with its three most important neighbors.

The 21st century is marked by the proliferation of hybrid warfare among actors involved in asymmetric conflicts, utilizing diverse forms of warfare that are suited to the scenario and context. Therefore, modern conflicts differ from classical conflicts in terms of their complexity, diversity, form, nature, and dynamics. This study examines the susceptibility of actors in hybrid warfare. Thus, the research question is “What requirements does a hybrid war impose on international actors, and how should Iran be explained as a case study?” The data were collected through desk studies and analyzed based on a descriptive-analytical approach. The study findings showed that, given the assumption of changes in the nature of wars and the emergence of hybrid wars as a result of the combined nature of threats in the complex international system, hybrid war is the most difficult challenge for actors, particularly dissatisfied ones, in confrontation with the international system's power poles, particularly the hegemon. This includes a variety of conventional and unconventional wars that are fought at anytime, anywhere, and with varying degrees of intensity by military or civilians. Iran is under pressure from rivals engaged in this type of conflict to give up its demands and needs on the regional and international levels.