Democratic Deterrence: How to Dissuade Hybrid Interference

Abstract

Western democracy is being attacked like never before, but not through overhyped "hybrid warfare " It is in reality threatened more acutely by hybrid interference, attacks that are often subtle, manipulating for cover the very same liberal democratic values that the attack is designed to subvert The cornerstones of Western democracy--state restraint, pluralism, free media, and economic openness--provide openings for authoritarian actors to interfere in democratic society through a host of covert, non-military means calibrated to undermine their internal cohesion and accelerate political polarization For instance, disinformation campaigns have become increasingly evident since the 2016 US elections and have stepped up in the midst of the COVID 19 crisis Financial support is also being channeled to radical political parties and movements to accelerate centrifugal forces within and among Western democracies Part of this toolbox involves exploiting the economic openness of Western democracies to capture strategic sectors of the economy--such as critical infrastructure, finance, and media--by which these authoritarian actors can attempt to destabilize Western democracies and purposefully corrupt them