DISCUSSING HYBRID WARFARE VIA SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY: THE CASE OF DISINFORMATION AND PROPAGANDA EXPLOITING MINORITY GROUPS

Abstract

This paper argues that minority issues are often exploited in hybrid warfare, serving as both subject and target of disinformation and propaganda. The ultimate aim is to polarise society, weaken cohesion and even trigger conflict in the countries of interest to the aggressor. The paper discusses studies on disinformation, propaganda and minorities and applies the lens of social psychology to identify key characteristics of minorities that can be targeted by third parties in hybrid warfare. Finally, it briefly examines how the Russian Federation is using these tools in its hybrid war against Ukraine and other democratic states. As part of a larger work in progress, the paper does not offer at this stage a complete and tested analytic model, but signals the need for an approach that goes beyond simple debates about disinformation and propaganda narratives towards the socio-psychological mechanisms that make them efficient.