When war is no longer fought only with weapons

A new anthology analyses different aspects of non-military warfare, with a particular focus on its relationship to conventional warfare and on how states can understand and counter non-military methods such as disinformation and cyberattacks.

War is no longer solely about soldiers on the battlefield. In an era defined by rapid information flows, a globalised economy, and technological vulnerabilities, the significance of non-military means is growing. In the anthology Non-Military Warfare, researchers examine how states employ tools such as cyberattacks, disinformation, political manipulation, and legal strategies, both as complements to and as substitutes for military operations.

A growing threat in the modern information society

“Non-military warfare has become a cost-effective way for states to achieve political objectives, but also a means to undermine opponents without firing a shot,” says Oscar Jonsson, researcher in War Studies at the Swedish Defence University and one of the book’s editors.

For those targeted, it can involve anything from influence campaigns to advanced cyberattacks.

“This phenomenon has its own dynamics, which require us to understand how it interacts with military means, and how we can think about victory and defeat, participation, and legal frameworks,” he adds.

A changed view of the instruments of power

In January 2014, Russia’s Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, asked whether the Arab Spring was the war of the 21st century. He described it as a combination of intelligence operations and information influence that led to regime change, and argued that non-military means were four times as important as military ones.

“This changed view of the instruments of power required a coherent analysis that incorporates multiple domains and examines their shared dynamics,” says Oscar Jonsson.

While there has been much research on individual areas such as political warfare or cyber operations, Non-Military Warfare treats non-military warfare as a single, unified phenomenon.

“We combine theoretical chapters on strategy, victory, and defeat with empirical studies of how the United States, Russia, and China employ non-military means in politics, cyber, diaspora, technology, and law,” Jonsson explains.

Understanding how military and non-military means interact

The book is aimed at researchers, students, and practitioners who need to understand and manage a world in which threats emerge from multiple directions and can move between domains.

“By focusing on how military and non-military means work together—and at times replace one another, we can understand how to defend ourselves in the 2020s,” says Oscar Jonsson.