Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

This chapter argues that it is crucial to understand the role of the military in the grey zone, as unless hybrid threats- and warfare can be successfully handled there, the war is likely to have been lost before a conventional war breaks out. Asking what role the military can and should play in responding to hybrid threats- and warfare today and in the future, the paper presents an analytical framework operationalising hybrid threats and warfare, which is then applied on the official discourse in the Baltic and a case study of Sweden analysing what role the members of the military themselves think it should have. It is concluded that the role of the military needs to be recognised and utilised in the most efficient way possible across the grey zone while at the same time ensuring that democratic principles and the rule of law are upheld. It is encouraging to see that the role of the military in the grey zone is both recognised and in correlation in the official discourse and in the thinking of military officers.