(This is an archived page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book. Current versions are at book contents).
Covert interference in the affairs of other countries is likely to be hostile. By definition, it is intended to be secret and the attacker doesn’t acknowledge responsibility for it.
Such interventions are less likely to incur reprisals, and are therefore less risky, than overt military action. It may be hard to prove to the UN what is happening, so countries have to take their own countermeasures for Self-Protection.
As described in the following sub-sections, covert interventions can take the form of spying (7.3.4.1), assassinations (7.3.4.2), sabotage and cyber-attacks (7.3.4.3), helping resistance groups (7.3.4.4) or subversion, using fake news and propaganda (7.3.4.5).