WE ARE NOW IN THE GRAY ZONE : Focus on Short-Term Combat to Long-Term Competition

 

Gray Zone Warfare, below the threshold of armed conflict

The gray zone is that contested arena that lies somewhere between routine statecraft and open warfare. It is here where U.S. competitors and adversaries are contesting the rules of the international system – threatening U.S. interests without triggering escalation. A new campaign plan for the gray zone is needed, and implementing it will require adjustments to U.S. government organizations, policies, authorities, and capabilities

Russian, Chinese, and other countries’ use of disinformation, election meddling, and social media accounts to spread propaganda and sow division through gray zone tactics. 

Gray Zone Tools: Economic Coercion 

• Use of economic power to coerce others into positions of disadvantage. 

Gray zone Techniques 

• Cyber Espionage, 
• Forced Technology Transfers, and 
• Debt-Dependency.

Stratfor

NATO's Post-Cold War Missions