Research in grey zone strategies and hybrid war is kick-started by Carlsberg Foundation

Centre for Military Studies is proud to announce that Research Assistant André Ken Jakobsson has been granted the Carlsberg Foundation's Postdoctoral Fellowship for a research project on grey zone strategies and use of hybrid operations in international politics.

The research project is placed at Centre for Military Studies, University of Copenhagen.  Focus of the project is on the use of and defence against grey zone strategies and hybrid operations by the United States, Russia, and China as the most influential actors.

The grey zone lies between war and peace
A state's actions in the grey zone are often ambiguous and without any clear evidence of the responsible actor. The use of these measures helps the state avoid a direct conflict or, worst case scenario, war. A current example is the Russian annexation of Crimea, where Russia through hybrid operations tried to confuse both Ukraine and the West by deploying masked soldiers in unmarked green army uniforms.

"As the grey zone concept is relatively new, research in this field will give important insights on how liberal and authoritarian states will influence the future of international politics", André emphasizes. "The process of setting the stage for what a state can and cannot do is already taking place as new red lines are being drawn. It will be exciting to follow this development!"

 The Carlsberg Foundation is funding the project with DKK 1.459.000.