In the blind spot: Influence operations and sub-threshold situational awareness in Norway

Situational awareness in the face of hybrid campaigns is undermined by ‘blind spots’, which this article conceptualises. Blind spots are where legal or political frameworks preclude intelligence gathering below threshold war. Drawing on a historical case study alterations legislation and security police directives Norway from 1950–2021, analysis shows how an influence operation’s blind spot varied along with shifts balance between national concerns democratic individual rights. Recent initiatives to criminalise domestic collaboration foreign operators discussed, advent AI microtargeting presented as challenge out reach such legislation.