Proxy war

This article is about the type of war. For a list of proxy wars, see List of proxy wars. Not to be confused with Proxy fight.

The term proxy war has a variety of definitions,^[1] but due to the wide variety of wars which are considered proxy wars, it is best defined as a war in which a war is fought between two or more entities, one or more of whom is supported by another country, in order to achieve the goals of the supporting country. It should be clarified that in a proxy war, the proxies are usually fighting the war for their own reasons. The reason they are considered proxies, and the reason the war is considered a proxy war, is because the "proxy" is being supported by an outside country, and the outside country is supporting the proxy simply because the proxy is attempting to do something that the supporting country likes.

Proxy wars have been common since the end of World War II and the rise of the Cold War. This is for a number of reasons. During the Cold War, this was because that there was a fear that direct conflict between the USA and USSR would result in a nuclear war and the total annihilation of all participants^[2] (see mutually assured destruction). In addition, the USSR, especially towards the end, didn’t have a large enough pool of resources to directly fight the USA,^[3] and the media had and still has heavy influence on policy in the USA.^[4] Often following major wars, the media and general population hold antiwar views. When this happens, the USA has needed to provide heavy justification to go to war. When unable to do so, the USA has resorted to having other entities fight the wars. An example of this circumstance was when the USA didn’t get directly involved in the Soviet-Afghan War, instead choosing to supply and fund the Mujahideen.^[5] Note that the Soviet-Afghan War happened four years after the Vietnam War.

Proxy wars can start as independent conflicts, but develop into proxy wars as major powers seek to protect their interests. For example, the Spanish Civil War began as a civil war between the pro-fascist revolutionary Nationalists under General Francisco Franco and the supporters of the Spanish Republic, called the Republicans. However, it developed into a proxy war as Nazi Germany and its allies began supporting the Nationalists, while the USSR, Mexico and a bunch of international volunteers supported the Republicans.^[6]

Reasons for proxy wars

There are many reasons why countries may fight proxy wars. One of them involves the military strength of the two countries. Let's say that Country A and Country B are bitter enemies, and Country A is significantly stronger than Country B. If Country B wants to eliminate Country A, then it is in Country B's best interest to use a proxy war, since Country B doesn't stand a chance in direct conflict. A real-world example of this is the Arab-Israeli conflict. This conflict developed into a proxy war following Israel's decisive defeat of the Arab coalitions in the First Arab-Israeli War, the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War. The Arab countries realized they couldn't defeat Israel in direct conflict, and have since resorted to funding terrorist organizations, such as Hezbollah and Hamas.^[7][8]

Another reason countries, particularly democracies, might fight a proxy war involves public support for a war. Let's say Country C wants to do to war with Country D. However, Country C's public refuses to support this. If Country C is a democracy, then if Country C goes to war anyway, the government of Country C will get voted out of power next election. The government doesn't want this to happen, and might choose to have a proxy go to war with Country D. An example of this is the Soviet-Afghan War. This began only four years after the end of the Vietnam War, and the American public had no intention on fighting another war. This led the USA to instead support the Mujahideen, who were fighting the USSR.^[5]

Another reason countries might fight a proxy war, though this primarily applies to the modern world, is international reaction. Let's say Country E and Country F are rivals, and they're both dependent on Country G for revenue. If Country G has threatened to cut off trade with any country that provokes a war, then neither Country E nor Country F would benefit from starting a war. They might instead choose to fight each other using proxies. A modern-day example of this involves Saudi Arabia and Iran. Saudi Arabia and Iran have very tense relations. However, both countries would likely get punished economically for provoking a war, and so have resorted to fighting each other with proxy wars, resulting in the Syrian Civil War and the current Suadi-led military intervention in Yemen.^[9]

Effects of proxy wars

Proxy wars can have a huge impact, especially on the local area. The Syrian Civil War, a proxy war with Saudi Arabia, the USA and the EU on one side and Iran and Russia on the other, has resulted in the deaths of 220,000 people and the displacement of over one million.^[10] Another proxy war with significant effects was the Vietnam War between the USA and the USSR. In particular, the bombing campaign Operation Rolling Thunder destroyed lots of infrastructure, making life more difficult for North Vietnamese citizens. In addition, unexploded bombs dropped during the campaign have killed tens of thousands since the war ended, not only in Vietnam, but in Cambodia and Laos too.^[11] Also significant was the Soviet-Afghan War, which cost millions of lives and billions of dollars,^[12] bankrupting the Soviet Union and contributing to its collapse.^[3]

Proxy wars generally have a destabilizing effect. For example, in the Middle East, the proxy wars, one bbetween Saudi Arabia and Iran and the other between Israel and Islam, have destroyed the region. These conflicts have resulted in, among other things, the Syrian Civil War, the rise of ISIL, the current civil war in Yemen, and the reemergence of the Taliban. Since 2003, more than 500,000 have died in Iraq.^[13] Since 2011, more than 220,000 have died in Syria.^[10] In Yemen, over 1,000 have died in just one month.^[14] In Israel, more than 8,000 have died since 2000.^[15] In Afghanistan, more than 17,000 have been killed since 2009.^[16] In Pakistan, more than 57,000 have been killed since 2003.^[17]

One of the reasons the death toll in these conflicts is so high because of the fact that most of the groups fighting them are paramilitary. In Israel, there's Hamas and Hezbollah.^[7][8][18] In Ukraine, there's the pro-Russian rebels.^[19] In Syria, there's ISIL, Al-qaeda and a lot of other rebel groups.^[9] Because these groups are paramilitary, they're not technically allowed to be there. If anyone who was willing to control them was able to, they wouldn't exist in the first place. Also because they're paramilitary, they often don't have much respect for existing laws and military norms. Often, they won't go out of their way to prevent civilian deaths, dramatically increasing the number of casualties. Some of these groups, such as Hamas, even consider civilians legitimate targets and weapons.

See also

• Cuban Missile Crisis
• Korean War
• Nicaraguan Revolution
• Second Congo War

References