In the twenty-first century, war has spilled far beyond the reach of tanks and missiles. Today’s battlefields are lit by smartphone screens, fought over social media feeds, splashed across global headlines, and hidden on anonymous servers where cyberattacks hatch. For Azerbaijan — a nation that restored its territorial integrity after the 44-day war and emerged as a major player in the South Caucasus — this new reality hits especially hard. Hybrid and information warfare have become a systemic threat, one that can rattle not only its foreign policy footing but its domestic stability.
What exactly is hybrid warfare in our age? Think of it as a toxic cocktail of cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, diplomatic and economic pressure, and the so-called “lawfare” — legal battles designed to inflict political damage — all woven together with the manipulation of public opinion through media and social platforms. The information war, in particular, aims to build a negative image of the country, sow distrust among its people, and wreck Azerbaijan’s reputation on the world stage.
The Second Karabakh War and its aftermath brought this into stark relief. According to moderndiplomacy.eu, more than 2,600 pieces of disinformation surfaced during the conflict alone, accusing Baku of violating humanitarian law — often with little or no proof. Global investigative groups like OCCRP published reports that twisted data or ignored critical historical and legal context. This flood of negative messaging was no accident; it was part of a coordinated campaign to undercut Azerbaijan’s moral right to reclaim its lands.
Cyberattacks pose no less serious a challenge. In February 2025, Azerbaijani government institutions were hit by a wave of cyber intrusions, with more than 120 indicators of compromise linked, apparently, to Russian hacker groups. These attacks included efforts to break into e-services, falsify data, and circulate phony directives posing as official orders. And lawfare remains alive and well — in recent years, Azerbaijan has been the target of legal complaints in international courts, aimed squarely at tarnishing its actions, especially on humanitarian grounds, and triggering funding cuts or sanctions.
Adding fuel to the fire is a rising tide of political and diplomatic pressure, particularly in Europe and the United States. Lobby groups are working to push a negative agenda about Baku, frequently leveraging human rights or environmental talking points. French organizations, for example, have repeatedly accused Azerbaijan of suppressing free speech — claims that often collapse under independent audits.
The hybrid playbook goes deeper still, working to undermine trust within Azerbaijan’s own society. Fake social media accounts churn out highly emotional content designed to erode confidence in government institutions and drive up polarization. Western experts in cognitive warfare have studied these methods extensively, noting the same patterns in Georgia, Ukraine, and the Baltics.
Yet Azerbaijan hasn’t stood idle. It has developed a toolkit of countermeasures, with a multi-tiered monitoring system at its core. Dedicated teams track information attacks, dissect their sources and target audiences, and develop preemptive strategies in response. In November 2024, the Azerbaijani Parliament created a standing commission on countering hybrid threats, keeping a close eye on cyberattacks as well as courtroom and human rights-based manipulation. In some cases, these investigations are brought before public hearings, boosting transparency and the government’s overall resilience.
Cyber defense is another critical line of effort. Azerbaijan’s AZ-CERT, established back in 2008, has long coordinated responses to cyber incidents and built partnerships with counterparts abroad. Since 2023, its capabilities have grown substantially thanks to collaborations with private IT firms and foreign research hubs. The Ministry of Digital Development and Transport reports that over a thousand cybersecurity experts have been trained in the past two years, while a new training center hosted by Technion is rolling out international standards for rapid threat response.
On the diplomatic front, Azerbaijan is also leaning on what you might call “information diplomacy.” Regular meetings with international journalists, experts, and human rights advocates are designed to open the conversation and push back against distorted narratives.
That said, the country still faces weaknesses it can’t ignore. Azerbaijan ranks 167th on the latest Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders, a stat that undercuts public trust in local journalism and leaves fertile ground for rumor and speculation. The fix is clear: modernizing its legal framework and building a safer environment for independent media would strengthen its defenses against outside manipulation.
Boosting media literacy among its citizens is equally vital. In a hybrid war, victory goes to those who can tell fact from fiction. That lesson needs to start in schools and universities, nurturing a culture of critical thinking and digital security for the long haul.
Azerbaijan could also expand cooperation with international institutions — NATO, the EU, the UN — through joint trainings, best-practice sharing, and leveraging AI tools to scan social media and spot disinformation before it spreads. That kind of partnership could multiply the country’s defenses several times over.
One thing is certain: Azerbaijan has already shown it can act decisively. In early 2025, it neutralized cyberattacks on government e-services in just a few days, with the parliamentary commission reporting results publicly. Social media monitoring systems detected hostile narratives trying to delegitimize the country’s actions and swiftly pinpointed their sources.
That experience proves a crucial point: with political will, modern technology, and smart international teamwork, even a relatively small nation can push back against complex, layered attacks. The key is to blend a fierce defense with respect for constitutional values and citizens’ rights. Here, Azerbaijan still has a road ahead — moving from minimal censorship toward greater trust within society.
In today’s global arena, the winners are those who combine robust protection with persuasive, transparent storytelling. Having restored its lands and upheld historic justice, Azerbaijan is well-positioned to defend its information space, too. The digital age demands a fresh strategy — one that respects both human rights and security imperatives. If Baku can strike that balance, it might just set an example for every country grappling with the threats of hybrid war in the twenty-first century.
Hybrid Threats in the 21st Century — and How to Beat Them
Hybrid threats today are more than just a mash-up of military force and information warfare. They’re a full-spectrum strategy of pressure that draws on every tool in the box — from financial sanctions to cyber-espionage, from diplomatic provocations to psychological ops pushed through social media. It’s a playbook built around probing a country’s and society’s soft spots and striking precisely where conventional defenses fail.
One classic hybrid weapon is lawfare — a kind of legal terrorism, where a country is buried under lawsuits and accusations designed to isolate it or wear it down morally. Azerbaijan has faced this on repeat since 2020, with NGOs trying to launch court cases against its officials, alleging “ethnic cleansing” or “environmental damage” — accusations that haven’t held up in court or earned international recognition. These legal moves rarely aim for real judgments; their goal is to poison the atmosphere with distrust and political stigma.
Another lever is economic pressure, often driven by lobbying to kneecap Azerbaijan’s export projects, especially in energy. According to the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, Baku has seen repeated efforts to undermine its standing as a gas supplier to Europe in order to clear the path for rival players on the energy market.
A third front is cyber warfare, targeting not only government networks but also infrastructure — energy, transportation, you name it. AZ-CERT reported over 320 attempted cyber intrusions in 2024 alone, including attacks with malware designed to cripple critical servers.
Fourth, there’s cognitive warfare, where social media and media platforms are weaponized. Against Azerbaijan, this has meant creating fake communities claiming to stand for minority rights, when in fact their mission is to spark protest energy and fracture interethnic stability. Research by the Strategic Communications Center at ADA University shows these “influence groups” are often the catalysts behind viral disinformation campaigns.
Then there’s historical warfare — twisting or rewriting the past, especially around Karabakh and Azerbaijan’s cultural heritage, to sabotage the legitimacy of its territories. These distortions are then fed to international organizations and global media outlets to spread parallel narratives.
In the face of this complex threat matrix, a purely reactive defense is never enough. What’s needed is a proactive strategy — and Azerbaijan is already stepping up. First, the country is investing in cybersecurity: growing AZ-CERT’s capabilities, partnering with international agencies like ENISA, and constantly refreshing its protection standards. But people matter as much as hardware, which is why Baku has hosted more than 40 training sessions over the last two years for journalists and IT specialists on cyber resilience and countering disinformation.
No less vital is building an information shield — a package of measures to amplify Azerbaijan’s own clear and reasoned voice abroad. That means public diplomacy: when government officials, independent experts, and scholars talk directly to international audiences, show documentary proof, and leave no room for spin. President Ilham Aliyev, ministers, members of parliament, and diplomats have already proven that professional, timely communication can neutralize even the most hostile narratives.
Independent journalism at home deserves special focus, too. Transparency is a powerful weapon against disinformation. When a country has respected, legally protected media outlets that can fact-check swiftly and tell the truth to their audiences, the room for hybrid attacks shrinks dramatically. Azerbaijan still has a ways to go here: lifting restrictions on journalists, broadening access to international platforms, and supporting media education would all help.
International partnerships are another highly effective way to push back on hybrid warfare. Azerbaijan is already working closely with Turkey, Israel, Italy, and others on sharing cyber-defense know-how, running joint drills, and shaping legal frameworks to fight hybrid attacks. These alliances need to deepen, with stronger ties to NATO and the UN as well.
Looking ahead, one top priority has to be boosting media literacy across the population. No cybersecurity center on Earth can handle millions of users if each citizen doesn’t develop their own filters. School programs, college workshops, grassroots initiatives — all these can build a society with real immunity to lies and manipulation.
Finally, Azerbaijan should keep strengthening its historical arguments, drawing on documentation, archaeology, and international law. When the past is warped by fake narratives, the best counterpunch is facts, laid bare for the world. Government institutions and academic circles have already built a significant archive of materials that deserve to be showcased more actively both at home and abroad.
Hybrid wars aren’t a passing trend — they’re likely a permanent feature of global politics. And for Azerbaijan, with its geopolitical position, energy resources, and deep historical roots, that means staying on the front lines of this fight. But the experience of recent years shows that a proactive mindset, smart planning, and partnerships with trusted allies can not only limit the damage but turn Azerbaijan into a model of resilience and forward-looking security in this new age of digital and information risks.
Concrete Success Stories: How Azerbaijan Pushes Back Against Hybrid Threats
When it comes to hybrid warfare, theory is worthless without practice. Over the past few years, Azerbaijan has built a solid record of practical, hands-on success in minimizing the impact of complex assaults — from cyber aggression to information warfare.
One of the most telling examples is how Azerbaijan monitored Telegram channels during the 44-day war in 2020 and the tense post-conflict period that followed. These channels were flooded with fake videos claiming to show mass human rights abuses, killings of civilians, and the destruction of historic landmarks. Some of that fabricated material was quickly picked up and echoed by international media outlets.
Azerbaijan’s response was swift. The Strategic Communications Center, working alongside AZ-CERT units, developed a rapid verification system for this kind of content. Using end-to-end media analysis — cross-checking metadata, geolocation, and open-source information — they were able to prove that a chunk of these videos came from entirely different locations and had been filmed years earlier, well outside Azerbaijan. These corrections were published on official channels and sent directly to foreign newsrooms. The result? Roughly 60% of the disputed videos were either withdrawn or corrected by international outlets.
Another critical case involved fighting back against lawfare. After reclaiming control over Karabakh in 2020, Azerbaijan was hit with lawsuits in European courts and arbitration bodies, filed by certain Armenian groups and affiliated organizations, branding Baku’s actions as “genocide” or “ethnic cleansing.” The aim was never really to win these cases, but to create a hostile media backdrop and ratchet up political pressure.
In response, Azerbaijan built a legal defense system involving the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, independent lawyers, and international consultants. Thanks to that coordinated approach, most lawsuits were tossed out during preliminary hearings for lack of credible evidence. A standout example was a case before the European Court of Human Rights in 2022, where the court concluded there was no proof of systematic ethnic cleansing and rejected the suit as unfounded — a ruling Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Justice proudly shared in an official press release. It was a legal victory, but just as importantly, a reputational one that shored up the country’s standing.
Finally, Azerbaijan’s energy sector offers another striking success. In 2023 and 2024, as Baku ramped up its expanded gas exports to Europe, a wave of disinformation spread claiming Azerbaijan’s gas was low-quality, polluted, and posed environmental hazards to European consumers. These stories often ran in small but aggressively activist environmental outlets, backed by lobbying groups likely eager to promote rival suppliers.
SOCAR, working with the Ministry of Energy, launched a transparency program in response. They published full quality-control protocols, verified by independent auditors, and translated the documentation into Europe’s major languages, distributing them through embassies and EU energy networks. According to BakuNetwork analysis, the number of fake or misleading accusations appearing in Europe’s key business outlets fell by nearly half within six months.
Taken together, these cases highlight a vital lesson: declarations alone are worthless against hybrid threats. What’s needed is a systematic approach — legal, informational, and technical — and the resolve to engage in tough dialogue even with those who intentionally distort the facts.
Looking Ahead
Azerbaijan has every reason to build on these hard-won successes and push them further in new directions. First, it makes sense to strengthen artificial intelligence tools for media monitoring. Leading global firms like Palantir or Recorded Future already offer cutting-edge algorithms that can analyze social media and flag coordinated attacks almost in real time. Similar systems could absolutely be adapted for Azerbaijan’s own media environment.
Second, boosting public media literacy should remain a top priority. For all the government’s efforts, it’s ultimately the individual who acts as the final filter of information. The more informed and trained citizens there are, the harder it is for hostile networks to hijack public opinion.
Third, Azerbaijan should tighten integration of its protective systems with allied countries and international organizations, building collective response mechanisms. In the face of large-scale hybrid offensives, the solidarity of allies and fast, reliable data-sharing are irreplaceable.
Finally, developing academic diplomacy deserves far more attention. Universities, research institutes, and cultural centers can play a crucial role in publicly debunking historical distortions. History is one of the most vulnerable battlefields for hybrid manipulation, and it demands a steady, evidence-based, scholarly pushback.
Azerbaijan’s experience shows that even a small country can build an effective hybrid defense if it relies on three key pillars: rapid response, strategic communication, and legal expertise. And it’s worth remembering — hybrid threats aren’t a passing storm but a long-term challenge. Countering them will require a systematic, sustained strategy, every step of the way.