How can the qualitative research be applied to assess and determine the success of USA Gray Zone activities to achieve strategic deterrence objectives?

** Sources Must be Peer Reviewed Scholarly Works Only** Gray Zone(s) are activities to secure strategic advantage while remaining below the threshold of U.S. commitment to engage in conventional military war. This is a request for support for a thesis proposal. Please reference the attached document (Thesis Proposal: Instructions) for clarity on what is required to be written (each paragraph is described in detail in the attachment: Intro, Literature Review, Theoretical Framework, Research Design, Conclusion), reference the attached (Gray Zone EW Support v2) to understand the direction this thesis going, and finally review and understand the attached Qualitative Research Methods for the theoretical and research design section. *1) The literature review must encompass commonalities of Gray Zone activities, but not limited to, *1a) use of paramilitaries (e.g. Russia’s Wagner Group in Ukraine, Syria, and Libya; USA SOF support of insurgent groups in Afghanistan-Mujahedeen, Syria, etc.); *1b) economic investments (China’s Belt and Road; USA foreign assistance aid; Russia in Libya and Venezuela oil production); *1c) military overseas presence (USA multitude of forward bases overseas, direct military arms sales to Taiwan, USA pays the entirety of the Afghan Army payroll, and so forth; Russia in Libya, Syria, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia (Abkhazia & South Ossetia), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, renewing bases in Vietnam and Cuba, and the 2017 Chinese overseas naval base in Djibouti and the ongoing development of the Spratly Islands (for military purposes and operational reach); *1d) strategic military research, development, and proliferation of Ballistic Missiles (BM) and Ballistic Missile Defenses (BMDs), anti-satellite, and improved nuclear delivery methods designed to bypass current BMD technology (hypersonic cruise missiles, e.g. Russia’s Avangard); *1e) infiltration to acquire industrial secrets (industrial espionage) and intellectual property (universities); and *1f) cyber threats (N. Korea and Sony, Russia in Georgia and Ukraine prior to invasion, what has USA done? What has China done?). *2) There are likely to be more commonalities of gray zone activities that do not qualify for military engagements, but often have large implications to current status quo relationships as it pertains to hegemony, military , and economic dominance. I encourage the identification of additional commonalities; however, this thesis cannot become too broad. This thesis requires focus and I beg the writer to help develop a concise and coherent thesis in regards to Gray Zone activities 2)***The most critical aspect of this thesis proposal is the theoretical framework and the research design*** I would like to utilize a qualitative method that does not include interviews but instead uses social historical research in a reflective approach to understand past and current Gray Zone activities to answer the research question: Have U.S. operations in Gray Zones achieved strategic objectives?*** The research and design is the area I need the most support and I welcome the writers input, but I will not conduct interviews for this thesis. It is possible that this needs to be a Qualitative Comparative Anaysis (QCA), but I prefer to use social historical research, but I am still unsure of the direction I ought to take (more importantly, I have a feeling I will require the QCA to assess and determine if the USA has achieved strategic deterrence objectives in Gray Zones). Additionally, I will not conduct quantitative methodologies for this thesis either. *3) Strategic Objectives must be outlined and defined *4) How can the qualitative research be applied to assess and determine the success of USA Gray Zone activities to achieve strategic deterrence objectives?