Hybrid CoE Research Report 1: China as a hybrid influencer: Non-state actors as state proxies

Along with other authoritarian states engaged in hybrid threat activities, China’s strategic rationale is to undermine democratic norms. In creating hybrid threats, the use of non-armed non-state actors (NSAs) is a key element. Thus, an understanding of China’s NSA-related behaviour and the identification of NSA-related activity is vital for democratic states in countering hybrid threats. This Hybrid CoE Research Report provides an overview of the main NSAs associated with the Chinese state, and discusses the use of proxy NSAs by the Chinese state from the political system and strategic culture points of view. The report concludes by discussing democratic responses to China’s NSA-related hybrid activity.