Your country needs you: What we can all do to prepare for war
Russia’s hybrid warfare tactics means every citizen should remember John F Kennedy’s famous words: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.’
The pictures of flames and smoke over Dubai and elsewhere in the Gulf have been a salutary reminder of how apparently safe places can quickly become dangerous. Conventional war is inevitably destructive of lives and property, but the UK and Scotland, as with all of the West, are already engaged in a form of conflict sometimes called hybrid threats, primarily with Russia.
Whilst there is a continuing debate amongst politicians around the resourcing of military defence and security capabilities, and what the armed forces should look like in the 21st century, there is more that we can be doing as communities and societies.
As well as asking our political representatives what they plan to do to secure us, we need to be asking what we can do to help. Perhaps before we do that, however, we need to understand what these hybrid threats look like.
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‘Little green men’
Back in 2014, Russian forces occupied Crimea in what has been described as the first example of a hybrid operation. Russia denied the involvement of its armed forces, suggesting that the so-called ‘little green men’ were simply local militias.
They were the most visible element of a campaign that also included the use of disinformation and cyber attacks with the intent of causing confusion amongst leadership in the West and hence delaying a response from Nato or the European Union until it was too late to do anything to assist Ukraine.
It also sought to create division between populations and their politicians and officials, and this campaign has been ongoing ever since, if anything intensifying since the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The tools that have been used as part of hybrid threats are many and varied. There is substantial evidence of efforts to interfere in elections, including through the spreading of misinformation via social media. The 2014 referendum on Scottish independence is also reported to have been the subject of this kind of Russian activity.
Ransomware attacks
Much of this misinformation takes the form of the spreading of conspiracy theories. Alongside dis- and misinformation, our increasingly digital lives have provided opportunities for disruption in other essential services.
Ransomware campaigns have led to the release of private medical data and even the disruption of the operations of hospitals and clinics. Not all of these are directly linked to Russian state actors, but there is considerable evidence that Russia has provided cyber tools that have enabled the criminals.
Whilst it has yet to be seen in the UK, Russia has interfered with critical national infrastructure in Ukraine, conducting cyber-attacks against electricity grids prior to the invasion. More recently in northern Europe, we have seen efforts to damage the underwater cables on which our digital infrastructure relies.
Sweden’s ‘Total Defence’ strategy
Some European states have recognised this potential challenge for some time. In particular, the Nordic countries have sought to integrate civil and military defence in what might be called a whole-of-society approach.
Sweden has adopted a strategy of “Total Defence” and invests in developing and strengthening its military capability as part of a coherent whole with civilian resilience. The government engages with communities and businesses in order to identify what roles they can play to make the country as resilient as possible.
This seeks to enhance the security of Sweden through deterrence, making it a hard target for adversaries to challenge but it also improves the response in the event of an incident such as a natural disaster.
At the end of 2024, the government delivered the latest version of its leaflet, In Case of Crisis or War, to all households, outlining how everyone can and should be prepared and emphasising that all those between the ages of 16 and 70 have a role to play. For example, the leaflet recommends what food and water should be stored to avoid panic buying in the event of a crisis, or indeed extreme bad weather.
Building civilian resilience
So, what might this look like for us? Although the British government’s recent National Security Strategy emphasises the importance of all of society being involved, there is no evidence of policy or leadership on this issue from any of the major political parties.
Britain is not Sweden and their model cannot simply be copied across but, as we approach the Holyrood elections, perhaps this is an issue that the candidates should be asked about on the doorstep or at hustings. Whilst military defence is reserved to Westminster, civilian resilience is something that the Scottish Parliament can and should take a lead on.
As individuals and communities, we should also think about how we might contribute to a safer Scotland. Awareness of basic security skills can make a significant difference to reducing the risk of digital disruption but how many people do we all know who struggle to understand what is needed?
A few hours spent with a friend or neighbour could help them stop being the victim of a cyber fraud, or you could encourage them to access training and education opportunities that exist in libraries and community clubs. Likewise, first aid training is widely available and having more people able to assist first responders by acting before they arrive would help take pressure off the NHS.
These are only two examples, but we all need to think about what we can do to ensure Scotland is resilient in the face of current threats and challenges. It is time for us to remember John F Kennedy’s famous admonition in his inaugural address in 1961: “Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.”
Ewan Lawson is a former Royal Air Force officer who worked as a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute
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