Through the manipulation of human mobility, states are transforming human desperation into a weapon. As migrants and refugees are increasingly being employed as weapons of war, NATO must be prepared to respond to this hybrid challenge, which carries significant security and humanitarian implications.
As some of history’s greatest military strategists have contended, human will is central to conflict. Yet, as emerging technologies capable of altering emotions, reasoning, and ultimately, human will, are progressively used to cause divide and modify conduct, NATO must place increasing importance on the cognitive domain of conflict.