Conventional wars have been fought on a battleground where belligerent forces
confront each other. However, international condemnation of violence has prompted
the means of warfare to evolve. The meaning of the term “war” has changed over the
centuries rendering conventional understandings unsuitable to capture most of
the con­ temporary hostile conflicts. They are better described as “hybrid wars” where the
line between regular and irregular warfare is blurred. The purpose of this article is
twofold. First, the article aims to provide an overview of the notion of “hybrid war”
and introduce the basic terminology that is used to describe contemporary conflicts.
Second, the article sets out to identify which methods of warfare are prohibited
under international law.