午夜剧场

By analyzing Russia's "hybrid warfare," this book elucidates the reality of modern warfare and Russia's new military and diplomatic strategies.

"Hybrid warfare," a 21st-century type of war that combines conventional and unconventional warfare, suddenly came to be recognized as a global threat with Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. While tactics combining conventional and unconventional warfare have existed since ancient times, in the modern era, new and extremely difficult-to-counter elements such as cyberattacks, information warfare, and propaganda have come to occupy a significant role, clearly changing the way wars are fought. This was also highlighted by Russia's intervention in the US presidential election, the so-called Russiagate.

On the other hand, although the term hybrid warfare is rarely used in Russia, the modern type of warfare corresponding to it has changed from a military concept to something aligned with the theory of Russian foreign policy following the annexation of Crimea. By focusing on hybrid warfare, one can see Russia's diplomatic aims, its complex reality, and even its next moves.

The author conducted overseas research in Finland in fiscal year 2014 and witnessed the strong sense of crisis in the West regarding hybrid warfare. My awareness of this issue was further strengthened by the establishment of the "European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats" in that country during my stay, with the participation of the EU and NATO countries. In addition, considering that the former Soviet states, which I have placed at the center of my research perspective, have always been exposed to the threat of Russia's hybrid warfare, I believed that pursuing this issue would lead directly to clarifying the essence of Russian diplomacy, which is how I came to write this book. Furthermore, this book was edited by Jun Tokoro (1995 Faculty of Law graduate), a contemporary of mine from the Juku, and this book is also a fruit of the Juku's research.

Hybrid warfare is not someone else's problem; it has become clear that the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games were targets of Russian cyberattacks, and I believe that Japan is also incorporated into a part of Russia's hybrid war against the United States. I would be very happy if this book serves as an opportunity for Japanese people to think about hybrid warfare as an urgent issue.

Yoko Hirose

Kodansha Gendai Shinsho

352 pages, 1,320 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of publication.