At the core of the proposed project was the development of a Hybrid Warfare Reference Curriculum (HWRC) for military, police and civilian students of higher education institutions. The HWRC as a document reflects the combined knowledge of a multinational team of academics and policy experts. The intention behind the project was to draw experts from nations across the EU, as well as from other partner institutions to provide teaching and research activities in Hybrid Warfare. The project team wanted the HWRC -to serve as a platform of reference, an initial document for individuals and/or organisations looking to develop a curriculum dedicated to combating HW, or to amend their existing curricula accordingly. -to provide an overview of underlying ideologies, motivations and methods, and contemporary practices and projections of future potential conflicts. -to contribute to European and Transatlantic cooperation in security-related issues through education by offering students, professors, researchers, policy experts and the interested public a new international and interdisciplinary platform of study, and also a foundation for cutting-edge, practice-oriented knowledge in the Hybrid Warfare domain.
Security challenges come in many disguises and have the potential to undermine the security of the European Union and the very values that underpin and inspire its societies. The EU must be committed to address these challenges with all available means to support improved awareness, strengthen resilience and build the required capacity. The concept of Hybrid Warfare (HW) subsequently evolved to cover a multitude of actors, strategies and actions. Overcoming a uniquely military-centred point of view is at the core of HW as it takes advantage of the disunity within organisations of political entities and from the absence of a hegemon in international relations. In the course of the 3 years of our project, the need for such awareness and learning has been underpinned by the war in Ukraine and recent events in Israel. The aim of the project was to provide a conceptual framework for a better understanding of the attributes of current and most likely, future conflicts to a variety of key stakeholders, and in particular to the youth. This required a comprehensive academic and professional curriculum aimed at enhancing situational and contextual awareness and in particular, the anticipated consequences of such conflicts.