2023/08/31 by Ryan Burkholder · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Nuclear Issues and Defense #European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies #International Relations and Foreign Policy
paper · pdf · doi:10.21140/mcuj.20231402008
openalex publication_date 2023/08/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/07
To undermine U.S. military strength, state actors are increasingly operating in the ambiguous environment between peace and war known as the “gray zone.” These actions test U.S. response by exploiting the West’s rigid notion of conflict. Soviet actions toward the United States and other nations during the Cold War shared many similarities with contemporary Russian strategy. There is no current uniform definition of the gray zone, and the United States has not developed doctrine to address this challenge. Russia has adapted Soviet Cold War techniques for the digital and globalized age and effectively integrates instruments of power against the United States by targeting seams within culture, maintaining ambiguity, and controlling narratives. Countering these tactics requires that the United States modify its mindset toward conflict and improve integration of its own instruments of power.