Radical realpolitik of the new media environment: Lessons from Russia on security, information, and power

Abstract

The Russian state’s approach to information has recently been subsumed under the concept of hybrid warfare – a term that recognises that information manipulation has become an important tool alongside traditional military resources in pursuit of national security. I argue that information warfare is more than just an additive tool for military planners. It is also constitutive of the field of understanding that gives states and citizens their sense of self, of threat, and of unity. I examine recent developments in Russian information warfare to illuminate how the securitisation of the field of information has constructed a new world of security threats. My analysis of Russian military doctrine, official government documents, Putin’s speeches, academic articles, and strategic pieces illustrates how Russian elites have cultivated a perception of threat from technological innovation and its potential use by the West to justify domestic controls and international confrontation. My larger point is that these developments are important for all of us as media and digital technologies are penetrating more areas of life. I contend that this may give rise to a radical realpolitik of the new media environment, which allows sovereignty to be the primary arbiter of truth in pursuit of epistemological security.