ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses what appear to be the most salient variables involved in the control of gray area phenomena (GAP). To attack a targeted nation-state, the GAP challenger relies on societal grievances such as political and economic injustices, corruption, foreign domination, and racial or religious discrimination. The success of the operational instruments of war depends on the other two elements of the trinity. The first element is the credibility of the political objective and the resultant political-psychological-moral motivation of a society. The second element—the willingness of the populace to endure the sacrifices necessary to pursue a conflict to a successful conclusion—is closely connected to the first. If carefully done, the combined use of indirect moral-psychological influences, viable security measures, and direct violence techniques can undermine the position and legitimacy of another political actor by breaking the bonds uniting a people, its political leadership, and its protective security organization.
