Whole-of-Society Defence Against Greyzone Aggression

Greyzone aggression refers to acts of aggression which are below the threshold of armed military violence causing harm to another country. Often these means are even legal. That makes defence against greyzone aggression an enormous challenge for the targeted countries, and that also means the armed forces are not best placed to drive the defence. In her remarks, Elisabeth Braw argues that defence against greyzone aggression instead requires the involvement of all parts of society: the government, the private sector, the third sector, and the public, with people taking on responsibilities that can be as basic as knowing what to do when power goes out.

About the Speaker:

Elisabeth Braw is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where she focuses on defence against greyzone threats. She is also a columnist with Foreign Policy and Politico Europe and the author of The Defender’s Dilemma: Identifying and Deterring Grayzone Aggression (2022). Elisabeth is writing a book about globalisation and geopolitics for Yale University Press. She is a member of GALLOS Technologies’ advisory board, a member of the UK National Preparedness Commission and a member of the steering committee of the Aurora Forum. She is also the author of God’s Spies, about the Stasi (2019).