Thinking about Sub-threshold Competition- How to Constrain an Opponent Short of War

Abstract: As western nations adapt to the events in Ukraine, a key question they will face is how to constrain a rival that they do not wish to directly fight. Discussions about sub-threshold competition thus far have, through a focus on specific instruments, obscured the relationship between competition and warfighting and elided over the ways in which a range of state assets can be integrated into sub-threshold competition. In this talk, Dr Sidharth Kaushal will discuss the findings of a recent paper which outlines the relationship between competition and warfighting, outlines a typology of campaign goals that can be pursued below the threshold of war, and describe how these campaigns can be prosecuted in the current strategic environment

Bio: Sidharth Kaushal's research at RUSI covers the impact of technology on maritime doctrine in the 21st century and the role of sea power in a state's grand strategy. Sidharth holds a doctorate in International Relations from the London School of Economics, where his research examined the ways in which strategic culture shapes the contours of a nation's grand strategy.