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Global shadow war: conceptual analysis
Swedish Defence University, Department of Security, Strategy and Leadership (ISSL), Division of Strategy.
Swedish Defence University, Department of Military Studies, War Studies Division, Sektionen för markoperationer (KV Mark).ORCID iD: 0000-0001-5426-8238
2015 (Swedish)In: Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, ISSN 1746-7586, E-ISSN 1746-7594, Vol. 8, no 3, p. 251-262Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The US strategic shift from nation-building to what has been labelled “light footprint” has carried with it a number of changes in the practices used when waging war on terrorism. These activities include covert and clandestine action by special operations and paramilitary forces, and others, operating under a shadowy mandate. It is essential to analyse these changes, due to the nature of the actions taken and the global reach and consequences of US foreign policies. The concept of “global shadow war” has been used by scholars and journalists alike to describe the practices associated with the light footprint framework, although the concept is ambiguous, lacks clear conceptual boundaries and is yet to be defined. This article attempts to resolve the problem of ambiguity through a systematic analysis of how and when the concept is used, in the process establishing its conceptual boundaries and definitional qualities. Using a method for concept analysis developed by Giovanni Sartori, the article provides a conceptual definition which is more clearly delineated, encompasses the characteristics found in the sources studied, and can be used when theorizing about the many practices taking place within the light footprint framework.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2015. Vol. 8, no 3, p. 251-262
Keywords [en]
global shadow war, light footprint, clandestine action, covert action, special operations forces, networked warfare, US security policy
National Category
Political Science
Research subject
Krigsvetenskap
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:fhs:diva-5650DOI: 10.1080/17467586.2015.1104419OAI: oai:DiVA.org:fhs-5650DiVA, id: diva2:877544
Available from: 2015-12-07 Created: 2015-12-07 Last updated: 2018-01-12Bibliographically approved

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Lyckman, MarkusWeissmann, Mikael

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CiteExportLink to record
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Citation style
  • apa
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Language
  • de-DE
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  • sv-SE
  • Other locale
More languages
Output format
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