Gray zone conflicts are situations that fall between peace and war, where states use tactics that are coercive but below the threshold of traditional military conflict. These tactics may include cyberattacks, disinformation, economic coercion, or proxy warfare. Russia’s interference in foreign elections and China’s actions in the South China Sea are considered gray zone tactics, as they do not provoke full-scale war but destabilize adversaries. The ambiguity of these actions makes it difficult for the international community to respond, often creating uncertainty about whether to classify such actions as acts of war.