Making Sense of Grey Zone Warfare in Strategic Studies: A Theoretical Perspective

Abstract

Grey zone warfare, sometimes called grey zone tactics or activities in grey zones, is a modern concept in strategic studies that gained significant traction in recent years, as it echoes the evolving nature of conflict in the intricate geopolitical landscape globally. Grey zone warfare as deliberate actions falls below the threshold of military offensive, primarily operating between traditional warfare and peaceful competition, with less military options and more instruments of coercion, making a foggy environment between war and peace. This paper, dissects the phenomenon of grey zone warfare characterized by ambiguous activities in modern geopolitics, with a particular emphasis on theorizing this notion. It explicates the conceptual clarity, the definitional issues and primary characteristics of such warfare. This work further elaborates the position of such warfare in the discourse of strategic studies and the criticism it has drawn as a result of academic ambiguity. Finally, it explains the US and China competition in grey zones in contemporary times, with reference to John J. Mearsheimer’s theory of offensive realism.