Information and Psychological Operations as a Challenge to Security and Defence

Information operations, psychological operations: two terms very often articulated in the context of hybrid warfare, irregular warfare, information warfare etc. Western democracies and NATO try to define carefully what these terms mean to promote as much transparency as possible. Nevertheless, we suggest that current definitions do not reflect the reality, probably because the Western approach differs from that of the West’s adversaries, the ones who actively develop and deploy such operations in the modern age. Therefore, this article discusses and highlights the main issues and weaknesses related to the Western understanding of information and psychological operations, and also reflects on the gap in civil-military affairs. We witness intense discussions about the protection of society against the influence of information and psychological operations, but these reflect only civil society. Military and security representation is missing from this discussion.