The Hybrid Threats Research Group (HTRG) conducts research across five key themes: Modern Warfare, Hybrid Threats, Strategic Intelligence, Psychological Defence, and Defence Systems. Our interdisciplinary approach enables us to address the complex and evolving nature of security challenges in today's interconnected world.
In the area of Modern Warfare, we examine contemporary military conflicts and the changing character of war, focusing on how technological advancements are reshaping the battlefield. Our research encompasses both conventional and unconventional warfare, analyzing how different forms of conflict impact defence strategies and security policies.
Our work on Hybrid Threats explores the blending of conventional and unconventional tactics by state and non-state actors that challenge traditional defence mechanisms.
Our research on Strategic Intelligence aims to enhance the ability of organizations to collect, analyze, and apply intelligence to anticipate and counter threats effectively.
In Psychological Defence, we focus on building resilience and enhancing psychological defence capabilities to counter hybrid threats, foreign influence, and interference across the entire conflict spectrum, including crisis and war. Our research aims to strengthen societal defenses against disinformation, influence operations, and other forms of hybrid threats.
Our work on Defence Systems examines how technical and social components interact to contribute to defence and security capabilities. Bridging social science and engineering, we focus on developing and utilizing these capabilities efficiently to enhance defence solutions that benefit society.
Publications:
Nilsson, Niklas, Weissmann, Mikael, & Palmertz, Björn. "Hybrid Threats and the Intelligence Community: Priming for a Volatile Age." International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 2025(1):1–23. OPEN ACCESS
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/08850607.2024.2435265?needAccess=true
Weissmann, Mikael. "Future threat landscapes: The impact on intelligence and security services." Security and Defence Quarterly, 2025. https://doi.org/10.35467/sdq/197248
Psychological Defence and Strategic Resilience: North Macedonia’s response to hybrid threats and malign foreign influence and interference, Lund: Lund University Psychological Defence Research Institute, 2024
Palmertz, Björn, Mikael Weissmann, Niklas Nilsson and Johan Engvall , Building Resilience and Psychological Defence: An analytical framework for countering hybrid threats and foreign influence and interference, Lund: Lund University Psychological Defence Research Institute, 2024 (26 pp.)
Russian Warfare and Influence: States in the intersection between East and West. Editors: Niklas Nilsson and Mikael Weissmann (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024). OPEN ACCESS https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?docid=b9781350335257&st=russian+warfare
Hybrid Warfare: Security and Asymmetric Conflict in International Relations, Editors: Mikael Weissmann, Niklas Nilsson, Per Thunholm and Björn Palmertz. (London: I.B. Tauris, 2021) OPEN ACCESS http://dx.doi.org/10.5040/9781788317795
Weissmann, Mikael and Niklas Nilsson, “Current Intelligence and Assessments: Information Flows and the Tension between Quality and Speed”, International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, 2024: 1–17 (Published ahead of print). OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2023.2296886
Weissmann, Mikael, “Hybrid warfare and hybrid threats: towards an analytical framework”, Journal on Baltic Security, 5(1), 2019: 17-26. OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.2478/jobs-2019-0002
Weissmann, Mikael, ”Framtida hotbilders påverkan för säkerhetstjänsterna” ["The Impact of Future Threats on Intelligence and Security Services] in Häggström, Henrik, Framtidens säkerhetstjänst i totalförsvaret, ed. [the Future of Intelligence and Security Services in Total Defence]. Stockholm: Försvarshögskolan (FHS) (Swedish Defence University Report Series, 1), pp. 38–67
Weissmann, Mikael, Niklas Nilsson and Björn Palmertz, “Comprehending Hybrid Threats and Hybrid Warfare: The Hybridity Blizzard Model” , Збірник тез І Міжнародної наукової конференції «Воєнні конфлікти та техногенні катастрофи: історичні та психологічні наслідки» (до 35 роковин аварії на Чорнобильській АЕС) [Abstracts collection of the I International scientific conference of ‘Military conflicts and technogenic disasters: historical and psychological consequences’ (to the 35 th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Disaster)], 2021: 94–97.
Weissmann, Mikael, Niklas Nilsson and Björn Palmertz, “Att möta hybridhot och hybridkrigföring” [Meeting Hybrid Threats and Hybrid Warfare], Kungl Krigsvetenskapsakademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift [Proceedings and Journal of the Royal Swedish Academy of War Sciences], No 4, 2021: 185-87.
