“HYBRID WARFARE AND THE SECURITY PARADIGM OF PAKISTAN”

Abstract

The ever-changing phenomenon of warfare has blurred the lines between conventional and irregular warfare. Among multiple new concepts of warfare, hybrid warfare is perhaps the most salient one to emerge in recent years. Hybrid warfare is still a contested concept, with no universally agreed upon definition, and little empirical evidence available. This study examines the impact of hybrid warfare – its challenges and impact – on the national security of Pakistan. Since hybrid warfare is a national security threat, the whole country is taken into consideration; thus the focus of this thesis is on national-level security. This study analyzes existing literature as well as ground realities on hybrid warfare; security challenges faced internationally and more specifically security challenges faced by Pakistan. The research questions set out to ascertain what threats and consequent security challenges of hybrid warfare exist for Pakistan as a state, as perceived by key stakeholders and decision makers. The thesis follows a qualitative research design, using content analysis to understand ground realities, followed by in-depth interviews to supplement findings from the content analysis. In conclusion, this study provides concrete research regarding the current state of affairs for national security in Pakistan and how numerous factors determine the intensity of challenges and impact of hybrid warfare in the region.