Prof. Scott Jasper, an NSA faculty member with expertise in hybrid warfare, spoke about Countering ISIS: An Adaptive Hybrid Threat at an International Conference in Sofia, Bulgaria in late September. His talk covered how the characteristics of ISIS have shifted over time in regional, transition, and adaptive operations. Insights from the conference will be applied in design and delivery of Prof. Jasper’s new course in hybrid warfare, which will be offered in the 2017 summer quarter.

The International Conference on Interagency and International Cooperation in Countering Hybrid Threats was held in Sofia, Bulgaria from 28–29 September 2016. The conference was attended by over 80 participants from 20 international and national institutions. Keynote speeches were provided by the Deputy Minister of Defense and the Deputy Chief of Defense for Bulgaria. Prof. Jasper spoke on the first panel on “Emerging challenges of hybrid warfare and related threats and risks to the collective and national security.” In addition, Prof. Jasper’s presentation helped to define early in the conference the definition and characteristics of a formidable hybrid threat in actual operations. His delineation of changing tactics by ISIS in phases of an extended campaign raised many pertinent questions regarding how to prepare, deter, and defend against the threat. A paper on the topic will be included in the conference proceedings. Furthermore, Prof. Jasper will use many of the conceptual applications expressed at the conference in teaching his new course on hybrid warfare in summer 2017.