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VOL. 8, ISSUE 3 (2026)
Hybrid warfare and the erosion of state sovereignty in the 21st century: An analysis
Authors
Sangeet Singh
Abstract
The nature of armed conflict has been transformed since the turn of the
twenty-first century by the emergence of hybrid warfare, a mode of
confrontation that fuses conventional military power with irregular tactics,
cyber operations, economic coercion, disinformation, and proxy violence. Unlike
traditional interstate war, hybrid warfare is deliberately calibrated to remain
below the threshold that would trigger a decisive military response, exploiting
the ambiguity between war and peace to advance strategic objectives while
preserving deniability. This paper examines how hybrid warfare challenges the
foundational premises of Westphalian sovereignty, namely territorial integrity,
political independence, and the state's monopoly over the legitimate use of
force. Drawing on case studies from Russia's actions in Ukraine, China's
gray-zone operations in the Indo-Pacific, and the global proliferation of
disinformation campaigns and cyber intrusions, the paper argues that hybrid
warfare erodes sovereignty not through outright conquest but through the
incremental hollowing-out of a state's capacity to control its own territory,
information space, economy, and political processes. The paper further
evaluates institutional and legal responses developed by NATO, the European
Union, and individual states, and considers the conceptual debates surrounding
the utility of "hybrid warfare" as an analytical category. It
concludes that the resilience of sovereignty in the current era depends less on
traditional military deterrence than on the capacity of states and societies to
withstand sustained, multidimensional pressure across civilian, economic, and
informational domains.
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Pages:56-62
How to cite this article:
Sangeet Singh "Hybrid warfare and the erosion of state sovereignty in the 21st century: An analysis". International Journal of Social Science and Humanities, Vol 8, Issue 3, 2026, Pages 56-62
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