The Grey Zone

The Grey Zone is a research group at UiT The Arctic University of Norway. We focus on multiple challenges around understanding and addressing "grey zone" or hybrid threats and warfare. We explore both the ways in which these concepts are defined and understood, as well as what and how different threats are perceived, from individual, society, to state and international levels. We address different ways of managing possible threats, crises and warfare including local preparedness and societal trust, national preparedness strategies, Total Defense, and Whole-of Government and Comprehensive Approaches. The Grey Zone supports and strengthens multidisciplinary research and teaching in International Relations and Politics at UiT, consolidating International Politics competencies both on hybrid threats and warfare, but as well on security issues more generally speaking, Arctic security, international crises and operations. 

The research group leader is Professor Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv, and the coordinator is Arsalan Bilal (AB).

NOTE: ALL MEDIA REQUESTS SHOULD BE SENT TO PROFESSOR GUNHILD HOOGENSEN GJØRV (gunhild.hoogensen.gjorv@uit.no)

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Over the Circle: Arctic News and Analysis – created & edited by Marc Lanteigne
Arctic Academy for Social and Environmental Leadership (ARCADE)
Arctic 5 Chair in Security Studies

Publications

- Shadings of Nuance: Contextualizing a "Convergence of Opinion" Regarding a River Located in the Imaginarium of the Western Mind – Christopher R. Rossi. Read here
- Slaves, Indians, and European Legal Formalism in 19th Century America
 – Christopher R. Rossi. Click here to access the book chapter
-
The Psychology of Foreign Policy – Christer Pursiainen & Tuomas Forsberg. Click here to read
- The case for case in Putin's speeches – Laura A. Janda, Masako Fidler, Václav Cvrček, & Anna Obukhova. Click here to read
- Siviles rolle i sammensatt krigforing (book chapter) – Gunhild H. Gjørv, Jardar Gjørv, Ørjan N. Karlsson, Marte Aasen & Gjermund F. Rongved. Buy here

- Artificial Intelligence in Conventional Arms Control and Military Confidence-Building (book chapter) – Benjamin Schaller. Click here to read
- From European critical infrastructure protection to the resilience of European critical entities – Christer Pursiainen & Eero Kytömaa. Click here to read
- Water Security and Hydro-Egoism: Endogenous Hegemony and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – Christopher Robert Rossi. Click here to read
- Expanding Multi-Domain Operations to Win Moral Competition – Colonel Christopher Holshek, U.S. Army, Retired. Click here to read
- Identity, Stability, Hybrid Threats & Disinformation –  By Gunhild H. Gjørv, Jane Freedman & Velomahanina T. Razakamaharavo. Click here to read
- Trust, Distrust, & Security: An Untrustworthy Immigrant in a Trusting Community – By Gunhild H. Gjørv, Ali Bilgic & Cathy Wilcock. Click here to read
- Russia's Critical Infrastructure Policy: What Do We Know About It? – By Christer Pursiainen. Click here to read
- Psychological Dimension of Russian Foreign Policy: Putin & the Annexation of Crimea – By Christer Pursiainen & Tuomas Forsberg. Click here to read
- Critical infrastructure resilience: A Nordic model in the making? – By Christer Pursiainen. Click here to read

PhDs

AB (Arsalan Bilal)

AB’s doctoral project investigates how mis- and disinformation, especially in the digital media, dovetail with right-wing populism—thereby undercutting state security in relation to the society. The project highlights the importance of understanding contemporary non-military threats to our security on par with military threats on the theoretical as well as policy levels. In his research, AB conceptualises security in terms of legitimacy and trust, which are deemed the lynchpins of a robust state. It is against this backdrop that the idea of society is put forth, since trust and legitimacy which the state banks on emanate from there. The project thus aims at investigating how the interplay of mis-/disinformation and right-wing populism can erode state legitimacy as well as trust between the state and society. Three cases from North America, Europe and South Asia are focused upon in a bid to delve into distinct contexts and infer meaningful comparisons from the research.

Isabel Dineen

The Grey Zone


Centre for Peace Studies, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Postbox 6050 Langnes, 9037 Tromsø
Contact: Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv (Research Group Leader)
+47 94842610
gunhild.hoogensen.gjorv@uit.no
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