A changing security environment and hybrid threats: the use of shelter theory in Maltese security

Abstract

In recent years, the security environment of the European Union has changed with security threats and concerns obscuring the traditional boundaries of internal and external security matters. This poses a challenge for Member States by way of being required to necessarily adapt and create structures which address such a new reality. A small southern littoral Member State, Malta has traditionally taken a security approach which emphasizes military guarantees and security assurances. The changing security environment and the rise of hybrid threats may alter this approach. Hybrid threats are actions conducted by state and non-state actors through military and non-military means with the goal of undermining a target. These threats have been present in the past. However, their effectiveness has significantly increased through their proliferation into several domains and the use of innovative technologies in recent years. A specificity of hybrid threats is their use to obscure internal and external security concerns undermining democratic institutions, targeting critical infrastructures, and influencing entire populations. Small state literature considers that because such states have been exposed to non-conventional threats, hybrid threats that impact cybersecurity and critical infrastructures are...