Wojny i konflikty w szarej strefie

Abstract

Today’s geopolitical conflicts, especially between great powers, are associated with a desire to fundamentally revise the world order and establish new norms of behaviour. The article examines various researchers’ approach to the term “grey wars”, which is used to distinguish modern wars from traditional or conventional types of armed conflict. The definition of grey war by American researchers generally coincides with the definitions of hybrid warfare and, in particular, the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine. The author points out that many of the examples that grey war theories list as novelties are actually quite old, but they are the ones that have highlighted shortcomings in the way the West thinks about war and strategy. The grey zone encompasses the use of unconventional force, from cyberattacks to information campaigns to energy diplomacy, to gain an advantage over other international actors. Russia, China, and other actors have engrained grey zone tactics built into their doctrines, while many democracies have failed to even build a consensus around these concepts – let alone integrate them into their security strategies, despite having the tools to do so.