Final Event Showcases Wargaming Tool for Strengthening Resilience Against Hybrid Threats

On 23 September 2026, the final event of the Estonian-British research project Prioritising Hybrid Threats: Wargaming Disinformation for Strategic Resilience was held at the University of Tartu Library. The event brought together Estonian and international stakeholders and experts from academia, governance, and the security sector.

The project, funded by the Network Plus for Analytical Behavioural Science in Security and Defence (NABS+) and jointly led by researchers from the University of Liverpool and the University of Tartu, explores how institutions prioritise and respond to hybrid threats, particularly disinformation, under conditions of uncertainty and limited resources. The Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies has contributed its expertise on hybrid threats, European security, and resilience, bringing Estonia’s experience and perspective into the development and testing of the project’s scenario-based wargaming tool.

The final event marked the culmination of the project’s work on developing and refining the wargame. The research team presented its final version, developed following several rounds of testing, and discussed how the tool can be used with different audiences – from university students to policymakers, public officials, and practitioners – to support training and education on hybrid threats and strategic decision-making.

The wargame is inspired by Estonia’s experience during the 2007 Bronze Night events, which the research team approaches as a “near miss” case in which different prioritisation choices could have resulted in further escalation, strategic setbacks, or reputational damage. The simulation places players in an evolving crisis scenario in which they must assess emerging threats, allocate limited resources, coordinate institutional responses, and justify their decisions while operating under pressure and with incomplete information. In doing so, the wargame provides a practical setting for examining how decisions are made when institutions face several interconnected threats simultaneously.

The event also provided an opportunity to present the wider lessons emerging from the project and to discuss the next steps for cooperation between the University of Tartu and the University of Liverpool. With Estonian and international representatives from academia and public sector gathered in Tartu, the discussion focused on how the shared experience acquired through the project and the wargaming tool can be taken forward beyond the conclusion of the current project.

Building on the cooperation established through NABS+, the University of Tartu and the University of Liverpool are paving the way to continue their joint work on hybrid threats, including through research, teaching, and engagement with relevant stakeholders. The completed wargame offers a practical foundation for this next phase and can be adapted to engage different audiences in Estonia, the United Kingdom, and more widely across Europe facing comparable challenges.

“Building democratic resilience in times when it is tested more than ever requires us not only to understand hybrid threats, but also to be prepared to respond to them collectively. The cooperation between Tartu and Liverpool shows how shared expertise and practical tools can help strengthen this preparedness across Europe,” said Dr Stefano Braghiroli, project coordinator at the University of Tartu.

This project is supported by the UKRI NetworkPlus for Analytical Behavioural Science in Security and Defence (NABS+).