Reports and Analysis

Explore the CSIS International Security Program’s reports and analysis on gray zone competition here.

report
Partners, Not Proxies: Capacity Building in Hybrid Warfare
May 27, 2020| Melissa Dalton, Hijab Shah

Security partners operate on the front lines of hybrid warfare environments. A principled approach to security partnerships and integrating partners into civilian-led campaigns for hybrid warfare will increase alliance-wide strategic action and operational effectiveness.

 
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By Other Means Part II: Adapting to Compete in the Gray Zone
August 13, 2019 | Melissa Dalton, Kathleen H. Hicks, Lindsey R. Sheppard, Alice Hunt Friend, Michael Matlaga, Joseph Federici

This report assesses current U.S. government actions in responding to gray zone activities and provides recommendations aimed at improving U.S. national security in the presence of rivals’ gray zone approaches..

 
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Warning for the Gray Zone
August 13, 2019 | Lindsey R. Sheppard

Gray zone campaigns are challenging given that warning requires detection of a weak signal through global noise and across threat vectors and regional boundaries. Thus, warning in the gray zone means identifying and assessing new patterns throughout new sources of data.

 
CASE STUDY
The U.S. Government in the Cold War
August 13, 2019 | Alice Hunt Friend

During the Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union engaged in gray zone activity.  Understanding how the United States organized—and re-organized—itself from 1947 to 1989 is critical in approaching the gray zone challenges faced today.

 
CASE STUDY
First Solar, 2006 – 2012
August 13, 2019 | Joseph Federici

Several challenges emerged that threated the viability of many U.S. solar power companies, including First Solar, Inc. This case study examines the decisions made by First Solar to remain viable in a volatile market and looks at lessons to apply to gray zone challenges. 

 
case study
Israel’s Competition with Iran: 1991 – 2015
August 13, 2019 | Michael Matlaga

Since 1979, relations between Iran and Israel deteriorated into a decades-long gray zone competition, which continues today.  This case study examines the organizational and policy shifts made by Israel between the First Gulf War and 2015.

 
commentary
Russia in the Gray Zone
July 25, 2019 | By Kathleen H. Hicks

Russia has become expert in using non-military activities in the “gray zone” to wage battles that help it achieve its security goals. CSIS’s Kathleen Hicks argues that the United States must leverage its strategic advantages and mount a campaign to fight back.

 
Report
By Other Means Part I: Campaigning in the Gray Zone
July 8, 2019 | By Kathleen H. Hicks, Alice Hunt Friend, Melissa Dalton, Hijab Shah, Lindsey R. Sheppard

This new CSIS report argues that with U.S. competitors increasingly operating in the gray zone between routine statecraft and open war, the United States must develop a campaign plan to deal with the gray zone challenge.

 
Interactive report
Zone Defense
November 27, 2018 | By Kathleen H. Hicks, John Schaus

This new CSIS report highlights the major themes and points of tension discussed at the 2018 GSP Workshop. It also includes insightful findings and recommendations and offers initial policy prescriptions to advance U.S. competitiveness against gray zone challenges.

 
CRITICAL QUESTIONS
Competing in the Gray Zone
October 24, 2018 | John Schaus

In a new CQ piece, Michael Matlaga and John Schaus from CSIS International Security Program explain the “gray zone” and the United States’ current readiness to compete in this space as it continues to face an array of challenges from adversaries. 

CRITICAL QUESTIONS
The Darker Shade of Gray: A New War Unlike Any Other
July 27, 2018 | By Nathan Freier

The United States Commission on National Security in the 21st Century (better known as the Hart-Rudman Commission) darkly concluded that “Americans will likely die on American soil, possibly in large numbers.”

 
Report
What Works: Countering Gray Zone Coercion
July 16, 2018 | By John Schaus, Kathleen H. Hicks, Heather A. Conley

U.S. leadership in an era of gray zone competition will require more than the largest economy or strongest military. National security begins at home and the United States must reinvigorate confidence in its institutions, its leaders, and its policy approaches.

 
Report
Countering Coercion in Maritime Asia
May 9, 2017 | By Michael J. Green, Kathleen H. Hicks, John Schaus

This study reviews deterrence literature and nine case studies of coercion to develop recommendations for how the United States and its allies and partners could counter gray zone activity.

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