Gray Zone Warfare Transgresses Within A Space That Is Not Easily Defended: International Relations Thesis, DCU, Ireland

Gray zone warfare transgresses within a space that is not easily defended. This research aims to understand to what extent gray zone warfare in the international community affects American political interests at home and abroad, and how current policy attempts to prevent its success. The research will focus on a few select case studies with significant international implications.

Secondary data collected from prominent figures and journals in the American military, international relations specialists, and other relevant sources, is the basis for which this research stands upon. Findings show information on how opposing parties utilize gray zone warfare to advance themselves in the international community and how the United States attempts to counteract these advances when it does not align with their vision.

There is very little information and resources available to the public on this topic as it is sensitive to current operations. This work adds significant practical applications for the unconventional warfare community as it is a space where many different views and ideas of gray zone conflict come together.

The introduction describes the thesis problem and usually outlines the structure of the thesis: i.e. how the problem will be addressed and where the problem will be addressed.

Gray zone warfare is a complex and relevant form of guerrilla warfare. The first large surge of its use was during the Cold War era in conjunction with the now well-known covert operations. Today, gray zone warfare is utilized in many different forms and for a range of goals. With the worldwide access, the birth of the internet gave us, gray zone warfare can take place within an instant and be extremely difficult to trace. Not all gray zone conflict today is fought in cyberspace. On-the-ground actions can be harder to counteract as an opposing force may need to be physically present to prevent its success.

The definition of Gray Zone warfare is unclear. This lack of clarity in the concept itself follows into the policy-making for when these events occur. While the United States may have a policy for how to react in these situations, there may be hidden policies for face-to-face diplomacy and Gray Zone deterrence. My hypothesis is that Gray Zone attacks are significantly more common and more influential on American politics than the U.S. wants. This is because it is more difficult to deter and stop this kind of warfare, especially as open military action is not a proper reaction to the type of attack.