THE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS OF HYBRID WARFARE

ABSTRACT
Law conditions how we conceive of and conduct war. By drawing a line between war and peace and between permissible and impermissible uses of force, the legal framework governing warfare stabilizes mutual expectations among the warring parties as to their future behavior on the battlefield. Hybrid Warfare is a notion that has the potential to change future  conceptualization of conflicts. This re-conceptualization also involves a need to rethink the law paradigms applicable to modern conflicts, which do not neatly fit the categorization outlined jus ad bellum (right to wage war) and jus in bello (the conduct of parties engaged in an armed conflict). Law therefore, constitutes an integral and critical element of hybrid warfare. This article seeks to contribute to the growing developments in the field of hybrid warfare by critically analysing the legal dynamics of hybrid warfare within international law.

Keywords: hybrid warfare, international law, lawfare, war, law of armed conflict & use of force.