Weapons of mass distraction: information warfare in the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Gaza wars
Date
2025-03-29
DOI
Authors
Version
OA Version
Citation
Abstract
Though states have relied on information warfare to support conventional conflicts throughout history, technological developments, particularly over the past two decades, have transformed both the actors capable of conducting operations as well as the operations themselves. Despite some international efforts to adapt law and policy to encompass this rapidly changing environment, legal frameworks remain unequipped to address the contemporary challenges posed by 21st century information warfare. By examining information operations conducted by both state and non-state actors in the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Gaza War, this paper seeks to define and categorise the contemporary information landscape and identify further challenges to effective policymaking. Through an in-depth analysis of conflict-related information operations, and a comparison of actors both within the same conflict settings and between the two wars, this paper proposes additional categorisations of information operations and further identifies gaps in existing legal frameworks based on these findings.
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License
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States