Abstract
Based on the gray zone concept the potential of mediation as an alternative conflict management and dispute resolution is assessed. Based on color, the "gray zone" metaphor is a conceptual framework for exploring the complex nature of contemporary conflicts, which outwardly resemble a "neither war nor peace" situation. It has been clarified that the gray zone concept, common in Western political science, comes from US intelligence documents and is used to describe conflicts in general, phases of conflict, operational environments or tactics resorted to by participants in various types of conflicts (conventional, hybrid, etc.). To test the hypothesis of the ineffectiveness of mediation in the "gray zone," we chose the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which, although it crossed the threshold of the "black zone" in 2014, remains a fragment of the "gray zone" in relations between Russia and the West. The existence of a "gray zone" in the conflict in Donbass has been proven based on criteria formed by other researchers, mainly concerning the composition of participants and tactics of struggle. It has been established that the gray zone creates unfavorable conditions for mediation. It shows how participants, and their proxies can use mediation to control the actions of their adversaries and thus fuel the conflict without crossing the threshold of war. The assessment of the potential of mediation in the "grey zone" includes the behavior of the conflict participant (the Russian Federation), which positions itself as a "mediator"; the characteristics of the regional international organization (OSCE) as mediator; the structure (Normandy format, TKG) and mediation tools; the negotiating positions of participants in the negotiation process and the status of implementation the agreements reached on the settlement. It is proved that the resolution of the "grey zone" conflicts depends on bilateral or multilateral negotiations between the "great states" which have sponsored non-state actors responsible for the main grey zone activities at the tactical level.
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