The Meaning of International Humanitarian Law in Hybrid War

Abstract

The last decades of the 21st century are marked by escalated military conflicts in different areas of the globe, which have brought international humanitarian law, an expression of humanism, to the center of political-military events. Inspired by the feeling of humanity, international humanitarian law today faces great challenges in terms of the conduct of contemporary wars. Thus, the types of current conflicts are confined to characteristics such as asymmetry, terrorism, and hybridization. Therefore, new combat techniques and strategies have led to a new model of approaching war, the hybrid one. In this sense, the interferences between conventional and atypical tactical elements, irregular with contemporary information tools and strategies, are evident. The context presented leads us to initiate a scientific approach inspired by the question: What is the meaning and role of international humanitarian law in the hybrid war of the third millennium? The aim is to reposition international humanitarian law as a direct and fundamental source within the normative spectrum of humanitarian responses generated by the horrors of war. KEYWORDS: international humanitarian law, hybrid war, legal codification, customary and conventional norms, legal humanism