Military Psychological Operations in the Digital Battlespace: A Practical Application of the Legal Framework

This paper aims to clarify the legal framework for military psychological operations (PsyOps) in the digital battlespace during international armed conflict (IAC), with a particular focus on civilian protection. This is to support its practical application in military training and planning. The impetus for this paper is twofold: the increasing complexity and scope of PsyOps from a technological perspective and the resurgence of IAC, impacting military training and planning. To provide practical context, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and its member states are used as a focal point for this discussion. The roles of both international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL) in regulating military PsyOps are considered. The inherent tension between the two bodies of law, due to their different origins, is then discussed. This paper concludes that the two bodies of law can in fact be reconciled. This is by using IHL provisions that regulate PsyOps from a civilian protection perspective to encompass broader human rights concerns. This paper advocates for the development of a comprehensive assessment and authorization process for training and planning for military PsyOps in IAC based on IHL.