Ambiguous Approach— All Shades of Gray | INSS
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Home Publications Cyber, Intelligence, and Security Ambiguous Approach— All Shades of Gray

Ambiguous Approach— All Shades of Gray

Cyber, Intelligence, and Security | Volume 4 | No. 1 | March 2020

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Raša Lazovic

This essay aims to examine conflicts in the “gray zone.” The paper is divided into three sections. The first section describes the gray zone and defines the ambiguous approach that corresponds to it. It argues that measures short of war, coercive gradualism, and deliberate obscurity are the crucial ingredients of the ambiguous approach. The second part discusses the ambiguous approach as a dependent variable, identifying the lack of power and lack of legitimacy to use force as the key drivers for adopting the ambiguous approach. Finally, the third section explores how actors can disrupt their opponent’s strategic calculation by creating ambiguity around key components of the game: the players, their actions, outcomes of interactions, and information relevant to decision making.


The opinions expressed in INSS publications are the authors’ alone.
Publication Series Cyber, Intelligence, and Security
TopicsAdvanced Technologies and National Security
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  • Research

    • Topics
      • Israel and the Global Powers
      • Israel-United States Relations
      • Glazer Israel-China Policy Center
      • Russia
      • Europe
      • Iran and the Shi'ite Axis
      • Iran
      • The Israel–Iran War
      • Lebanon and Hezbollah
      • Syria
      • Yemen and the Houthi Movement
      • Iraq and the Iraqi Shiite Militias
      • Conflict to Agreements
      • Israeli-Palestinian Relations
      • Hamas and the Gaza Strip
      • Peace Agreements and Normalization in the Middle East
      • Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States
      • Turkey
      • Egypt
      • Jordan
      • Israel’s National Security Policy
      • Military and Strategic Affairs
      • Societal Resilience and the Israeli Society
      • Jewish-Arab Relations in Israel
      • Climate, Infrastructure and Energy
      • Terrorism and Low Intensity Conflict
      • Cross-Arena Research
      • Data Analytics Center
      • Law and National Security
      • Advanced Technologies and National Security
      • Cognitive Warfare
      • Economics and National Secutiry
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      • Preventing the Slide into a One-State Reality
      • Contemporary Antisemitism in the United States
      • Perceptions about Jews and Israel in the Arab-Muslim World and Their Impact on the West
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