NATO's Deterrence strategy: causes of shortcomings when facing Russian hybrid strategy

Abstract

The Relationship between Russia and NATO is a subject which finds itself continuously popular and relevant throughout discussion of international security. Yet, there is relatively large disagreements on how a conflict between the two actors would play out and how strong their given strategies are, in this case being how successful or strong should NATO's deterrence strategy be considered. Due to this, this paper will explore the main point of: What are the causes or reasonings behind the shortcomings of NATO deterrence strategy when facing a Russian Hybrid Strategy? In order to explore this, a deeper look is undertaken into the strengths of weaknesses behind both Russian and NATO capabilities and credibility within their given strategies. Furthermore, the primary region which will be explored within the relationship between Russia and NATO is that of the Baltic states, as this is the most likely area which NATO's deterrence strategy will be tested by Russian hybrid Warfare. This exploration will use qualitative studies along with wargaming scenarios which take into account the joint hybrid and conventional nature of Russia's hybrid strategy. Through this analysis, several causes of shortcomings are identified. These causes are the weakness derived from the chosen deterrence theory model undertaken...