Grey Zone Conflicts in Africa

Shaping Africa’s Security Environment in the 21st Century

ies Putter editor Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Publishing:3rd Nov '26

£171.99

This title is due to be published on 3rd November, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

Grey Zone Conflicts in Africa cover

This edited volume examines how states, NGOs, international and local actors in Africa compete for influence on the continent by engaging in what is known as grey zone, conflicts using methods and tactics that fall short of open war.

Drawing on examples of grey zone conflicts from across the continent, the book shows how tactics such as disinformation, cognitive warfare, cyber operations, the strategic use of private military companies, sanctions, food and infrastructure deals, and election interference are used to generate political, strategic and economic outcomes without resorting to the open use of military force. It explains these examples in clear language, linking them to Africa’s history of colonialism, liberation struggles, often fragile governance and its nature as a place of contestation for foreign powers, and to today’s wider struggle over global order and power competition. Organised in six thematic parts, the volume moves from core concepts and historical roots to detailed case studies of Russian and Chinese engagement, Western policies, regional alliances, and the battle for hearts and minds. Covering cases from the Sahel to Central Africa and beyond, this collection not only advances the global conversation on grey zone conflict but also reinforces Africa's role in shaping the future of strategic competition and contestation.

This volume will be of much interest to students of hybrid warfare, military and strategic studies, African politics, and Security Studies.

'We don’t know enough about Africa and its complex geographical and geopolitical security landscape. This book helps to fill the void in our knowledge and explains the nature of the conflicts emerging there. It holds important lessons for the rest of the world.'

Lieutenant General (RETD) Professor Peter Leahy,Former Head of the Australian Army

'This edited collection will become the standard text on hybrid warfare in Africa. It fills an empirical gap in the ever burgeoning literature on this form of conflict, whilst shedding much-needed light on the overlooked nature of such threats on the African continent.'

Andrew Mumford,Professor of War Studies, University of Nottingham, UK

'Exploring the concept of grey zone in all its dimensions, and expanding the concept of hybrid warfare at its maximum, this book by Bachmann and Putter associates new forms of conflict with the geopolitical visions of major competitors such as Russia and China. Africa is not merely a periphery but a fertile playground due to its fragmented security landscape, and has become the new arena where competition among great powers plays out.'

Guillaume Lasconjarias, Director Research and Studies, French High Institute for National Defense (IHEDN)

'Hybrid warfare and grey zone activities are concepts that are now well established in literature on modern conflict, thanks in part to the work of colleagues such as Sascha Dov Bachmann and Håkan Gunneriusson. Understanding these concepts is critical now that international norms are giving way to coercion and threatened use of force. It is timely and illuminating therefore to read this collection in the context of Africa, where major powers are increasingly exercising such statecraft, but so too are other actors and African nations themselves.'

Andrew Dowse,Senior Non-resident Fellow, RAND Australia

'Grey Zone Conflict in Africa is a fascinating book co-edited by Dries Putter and Sascha-Dominik Dov Bachmann; connecting the reader to the African battlespace in the conduct of hybrid warfare in various weak and fragmented African nation-states. The book is a must-read for current and future military practitioners, security experts and members of the diplomatic corps.'

Brigadier General (Retd) Marcelino Peter Sereko, Advisory Board Member, Centre for Geopolitical Security and Strategy (NWU, SA)

ISBN: 9781041232582

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

352 pages