What are gray zone activities characterized by in the National Defense Strategy (NDS)?

Gray zone activities are characterized by coercive approaches that may fall below the thresholds for perceived military action by the United States, as outlined in the National Defense Strategy. These activities blur the lines between war and peace, involving tactics that states or non-state actors may employ to exert influence, achieve strategic objectives, or undermine an adversary without triggering a conventional military response.

This definition captures the essence of gray zone strategies, which often involve misinformation, cyber operations, economic coercion, and other forms of influence that are designed to create ambiguity and challenge established norms. Such approaches allow adversaries to operate in a space that is hard to counteract with traditional military forces, requiring a nuanced understanding and response strategy from the United States and its allies.

The other options do not accurately describe gray zone activities because they either suggest a clear military aggression, which contradicts the ambiguity associated with gray zone actions, or mischaracterize the nature of these operations as purely humanitarian efforts, which do not encapsulate the strategic methods and objectives inherent in gray zone tactics.