Nonstate Actors And Anti-access/area Denial Strategies: The Coming Challenge

This monograph explores the emerging challenge of non-state actors’ anti-access and area denial (A2/ AD) strategies and their implications for the United States and its allies. It starts from one major development: the historical monopoly of states over precision-guided munitions has eroded, and this evolution eventually challenges the ability of the most advanced militaries to operate in certain environments.

Questioning the type of strategy that non-state actors may implement as they gain greater access to advanced military technology, the authors explain that the research argues some of these groups increasingly lean toward A2/ AD strategies. The analysis focuses on two regions, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, where case studies include Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis in Yemen, and separatist groups in Ukraine.

Three key parameters are underlined to assess emerging non-state A2/AD strategies:

• a political shift toward the preservation of the status quo vis-à-vis opponents
• a significant focus of military resources dedicated to A2/AD capabilities - primarily missiles and rockets
• a consequential adaptation of the military units responsible for the implementation of this new strategy.

This publication would be useful to the intelligence community, the military's analysis and strategy communities, military commanders and staff officers at all levels, policymakers, members of government and defense agencies/contractors, and members of military- and defense-focused committees.  This publication would also be useful to historians and students engaged with historical/political/military/Russian, Eastern European, and Middle East studies.