Proxy war is a form of indirect intervention in which a major power sponsors nonstate actors to wage conflict in the interest of its own strategic interests. It is a means for great powers to avoid the costs of direct military engagement, which might otherwise threaten their vital interests in global politics.
As the world faces an increase in the number of intrastate conflicts that have become internationalized, policymakers and strategists need to consider how they might deal with these situations. Whether or not they are covert, proxy wars can have far-reaching consequences that affect the lives of civilians. These effects are often felt long after the headlines have faded.
Indirect wars are a common occurrence in international politics, but their implications are complex and can result in unforeseen outcomes. They also raise profound questions about sovereignty and foreign intervention. During the Cold War era, proxy wars played an outsized role in shaping political outcomes around the globe and fueled regional conflicts that have shaped nations’ political trajectories for decades.
The workshop participants defined proxy war broadly as the sponsorship of actors by a third party to wage conflict in an effort to advance its own strategic interests, or to undermine those of an adversary. These conflicts are usually fought by surrogate forces and, at times, third parties participate through direct means such as funding, military aid, or limited operations with proxy fighters. Indirect involvement can also take the form of providing sanctuary—safe adjacent territory where a force can retreat to without being pursued by the opposing state’s military.
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