It’s been called hybrid warfare, asymmetrical warfare, and ambiguous warfare. But warfare it is, and Russia appears to have perfected using it to achieve its geopolitical aims.
The Little Green Men are probably here to stay. Is there any way to counter them?
http://www.rferl.org/audio/Audio/1166373.html
The “polite men” tactic for benevolent regime change is similar in spirit to use of CIA operatives in benevolent regime changes, and benevolent use of private military contractors such as Blackwater, or financially supported benevolent street-protesters, to avoid using troops of the nation controlling the regime change behind the scenes.
The element of misdirection is also, in a larger sense, similar to proxy wars in general — where for example, South Vietnamese were benevolently used in place of Americans, to limit risk and enhance the appeal of the operation to local “hearts and minds”.
Thus the “polite men” tactic for benevolent regime change is more of an evolution than a revolution.
That’s over-reaching a bit. Financial support for political movements certainly. But Blackwater (now “Academi”) provided security and training after the invasion of Iraq. They did not precede the invasion force. Vietnam was counter-insurgency rather than revolutionary/insurgency.