Salami slicing is a tactic in which an actor advances their objectives through a sequence of small, incremental actions, each individually insufficient to provoke a decisive response but cumulatively capable of producing a major change in the status quo. The approach relies on patience, narrative control, and the management of escalation risk. Its effectiveness depends on the defender’s reluctance to respond forcefully to marginal changes, particularly when there is uncertainty over costs, legal thresholds, or alliance cohesion.

According to political science expert Richard W Mass, salami slicing tactics are most effective under the following conditions:

1) Retaliation would be politically or militarily costly

2) Reversal would be difficult

3) Achieving a fait accomplis* would be straightforward

4) When it can be conducted without alerting others that larger or more aggressive actions will follow

5) Where there is scope for further, cumulative gains

China’s actions in the South China Sea provide a clear example. Small steps - such as building artificial islands, deploying civilian vessels, and enforcing fishing rules - appeared limited individually but cumulatively altered control and norms without triggering a decisive military response. Read more

*Fait accomplis, French for “an accomplished fact”, means something that has already happened or has been decided before those affected learn about it.

The term is generally traced to Mátyás Rákosi, the Hungarian communist leader, in the late 1940s. Rákosi used the phrase “salami tactics” to describe how his party eliminated political opponents in post-war Hungary by removing them slice by slice, rather than through a single, overt crackdown. Each move appeared limited and defensible on its own, but together they dismantled opposition entirely.

Between 1945 and 1948, communist parties in Eastern Europe consolidated power gradually by marginalising rivals, controlling security services, and reshaping institutions. Each step seemed limited, but together they eliminated opposition and entrenched one-party rule without a single decisive rupture. Read more

The central logic of salami slicing is escalation control. Each move is calibrated to remain below the perceived threshold that would trigger a strong military, legal, or political response. This often involves ambiguity about intent, attribution, or legality. 

By fragmenting a strategic objective into discrete actions, the initiator forces opponents to either overreact to a minor provocation or accept incremental loss. Over time, the accumulation of concessions alters the strategic balance. This logic is especially effective against pluralistic systems where decision-making is slow and consensus-dependent.

Since the early 2007, Russia has gradually expanded administrative control in parts of the Arctic through regulatory changes, infrastructure development, and revised jurisdictional claims, each individually limited but cumulatively strengthening state authority and reducing the scope for reversal. Read more

Salami slicing frequently exploits legal and procedural grey zones. Actions are framed as administrative, defensive, or routine, rather than overtly aggressive. Domestic law, international law, and regulatory processes are used to legitimise incremental steps after the fact. This can include the reinterpretation of existing agreements, selective enforcement of regulations, or the creation of new legal facts on the ground. 

The cumulative effect is often a redefinition of norms without any formal renegotiation. Legal ambiguity raises the political cost of reversal by forcing opponents to justify stronger countermeasures, legal challenges, or escalatory responses to actions that were presented as lawful or routine.

Prior to 2014, Russia used citizenship policies, basing agreements, court decisions, and administrative measures in Crimea to expand influence incrementally. These actions were framed as lawful and routine, but together narrowed Kyiv’s options and eased the path to the region’s eventual annexation. Read more

Salami slicing can take the form of subversion instead of coercion. Influence is built through incremental political, economic, and institutional penetration instead of overt pressure. Tools include infrastructure financing, regulatory assistance, elite cultivation, party-to-party links, media partnerships, and commercial dependencies. The objective is to reshape decision-making environments while avoiding actions that would justify a clear counter-response. Pressure is applied to incentives, access, and information, not territory or force. 

Over time, what began as routine cooperation becomes embedded influence. Procurement rules, investment screening, foreign policy positions, and even electoral dynamics start to reflect external preferences. Each step appears reversible and lawful in isolation, but together they narrow strategic autonomy. The cumulative effect is a quiet reorientation of the state, achieved without confrontation, and difficult to unwind without significant political and economic disruption.

China has expanded its influence in Cambodia through incremental, sub-threshold economic and political manouvering. Infrastructure financing, preferential investment, party-to-party ties, security cooperation, and media partnerships were framed as development assistance, but collectively narrowed Phnom Penh’s policy autonomy and eased the consolidation of Chinese strategic influence. Read more

In military contexts, salami slicing is closely associated with “grey zone” operations that fall short of open warfare. These include limited troop movements, infrastructure construction, patrol patterns, and the use of paramilitary or civilian assets. The objective is to change the situation on the ground while avoiding a clear casus belli. 

The approach places pressure on adversaries’ rules of engagement and alliance commitments. Over time, what begins as a minor security adjustment becomes an accepted baseline, allowing the perpetrator to escalate further.

Along the Himalayan border, repeated low-level incursions, patrols, and infrastructure building by Chinese forces have gradually shifted control in disputed areas, staying below armed conflict thresholds while constraining India’s ability to respond without escalation. Read more

Economic tools are often integral to salami slicing strategies. Incremental tariffs, regulatory barriers, licensing delays, or investment restrictions can be applied selectively and adjusted gradually. Each measure is small enough to be defended as technical or domestic policy, yet together they reshape market access and supply chains. 

This approach is particularly effective in asymmetric economic relationships, where dependence limits the target’s willingness to retaliate. Over the long term, this produces leverage while avoiding the political and legal costs of formal sanctions.

Between 2020 and 2022, China imposed a series of informal trade restrictions on Australian exports, including coal, wine, and barley. Each measure was framed as technical or regulatory, but together they reduced market access and applied sustained economic pressure without formal sanctions. Read more

Information management is essential to salami slicing. Each step is accompanied by messaging that normalises the action and minimises perceived change. State media, official statements, and diplomatic channels emphasise continuity, legality, or inevitability. Opponents’ objections are framed as overreactions or provocations. 

Over time, repetition embeds the new reality in public and elite discourse. The more effective the narrative control, the lower the domestic and international pressure to reverse course.

Between 2014 and 2020, authorities in Hong Kong introduced a series of political and legal changes that were consistently framed as necessary to restore order and uphold the rule of law. Through official statements and state media, these steps were presented as limited and lawful, gradually normalising a significantly altered governance framework. Read more

Democratic states are particularly exposed to salami slicing due to transparency, legal constraints, and electoral cycles. Because these challenges unfold incrementally, they tend to be overshadowed by domestic priorities and therefore rarely dominate political agendas, while coalition politics and alliance consultation further slow response. 

The requirement to justify strong action against a seemingly minor provocation often leads to delay, and, over time, accumulated losses may only become apparent after reversal is politically or operationally costly.

NATO is struggling to counter Russia’s salami-slicing because incremental provocations fall below collective defence thresholds. Fear of escalation limits robust responses, creating asymmetry that Moscow exploits through airspace incursions and electronic warfare, while allied measures remain cautious and politically constrained. In September 2025, a drone incursion into Polish airspace by Moscow again fell below Article 5 thresholds, prompting cautious, defensive responses that analysts say fail to deter further salami-slicing. Read more

Salami slicing reshapes international order without relying on dramatic or disruptive events. It advantages actors prepared to tolerate long-term friction and exploit slow-moving institutions. The main risk for policymakers and investors is failing to recognise cumulative change. Markets, borders, and security arrangements may appear stable until a threshold is crossed. Recognising this pattern is essential for assessing political risk in contested regions and highly regulated industries.

Hong Kong’s autonomous governance framework has been gradually weakened through incremental legal changes, administrative adjustments, and reinterpretations of existing authorities. Each step appeared limited, but together they fundamentally altered the territory’s political and institutional landscape - leaving the “one country, two systems” framework essentially nominal in practice. Read more

Countering salami slicing requires early recognition of patterns rather than isolated incidents. Effective responses focus on signalling clear red lines, increasing the cost of incremental actions, and maintaining alliance cohesion. Legal and diplomatic tools can be pre-positioned to respond automatically to defined triggers. Transparency and public attribution can also reduce ambiguity. The key challenge is sustaining political attention over long periods without crossing over into overt escalation. The following is a non-exhaustive list of steps states can take to counter the tactic:

1. Lower and commit to response thresholds: Clarify in advance which incremental actions will trigger a collective or forceful response - and follow through when these red lines are crossed.

NATO Baltic Air Policing: Routine Russian airspace probes are met with immediate interceptor scrambles, not delayed political escalation.

2. Pre-commit to escalation ladders: Signal that small violations will meet proportionate but unavoidable costs, not only diplomatic protest.

US Freedom of Navigation Operations (South China Sea): Regular naval transits signal that even minor maritime claims will be challenged.

3. Deny faits accomplis early: Reverse minor changes immediately before they become normalised.

Norway–Russia Svalbard fisheries enforcement: Norwegian patrols consistently counter Russian attempts to normalise expanded access, including efforts to detain Russian vessels illegally operating there.

4. Persistent presence: Maintain continuous political, military, or regulatory engagement in contested spaces.

US and allied naval rotations in the Taiwan Strait: Continuous transits prevent Beijing from redefining the strait as internal waters.

5. Rapid attribution and exposure: Publicly identify grey-zone actions quickly to remove plausible deniability.

EU responses to Russian cyber and disinformation campaigns: Public attribution reduces deniability and raises diplomatic cost.

6. Legal and regulatory hardening: Close loopholes in investment screening, basing rights, citizenship, and procurement frameworks.

EU FDI Screening Mechanism (since 2020): Tightens oversight of strategic infrastructure acquisitions by external state-linked firms.

7. Alliance coordination mechanisms: Ensure partners respond in synchronised, not sequential, fashion.

AUKUS, 2021: The US, UK, and Australia jointly announced a coordinated security and technology partnership, aligning deterrence signalling and capability development to limit China’s ability to exploit gaps between individual allies.

8. Cost-imposition tools below conflict: Use sanctions, access restrictions, and diplomatic penalties at early stages.

G7 and EU price cap on Russian oil: Participating states limited the price at which Russian oil could be sold, directly impacting its revenues in response to its incremental aggression. 

9. Resilience of institutions and elites: Reduce susceptibility to subversion through transparency, anti-corruption enforcement, and media independence.

Estonia’s cyber governance reforms after 2007 attacks: Hardened state capacity against future grey-zone pressure.

10. Consistent strategic signalling: Avoid mixed messages that could suggest incremental moves will be tolerated.

Japan’s responses to Chinese activity around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands: Repeated, uniform diplomatic and coastguard actions reinforce red lines.