Proxy Wars – Role of External Elements

Introduction: Proxy war or proxy warfare is a war that results when

opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each
other directly. While powers have sometimes used governments as
proxies, violent non-state actors, mercenaries, or other third parties
are more often employed. It is hoped that these groups can strike an
opponent without leading to full-scale war. Opposing powers are
usually core countries that have conflicting ideologies and interests
with each other. However, a direct large-scale war between them
would cause enormous damage to all belligerent powers. Therefore,
they rather conduct proxy wars in developing countries in order to
avoid loss and achieve some certain interests at the same time.
Why do states engage in proxy wars?
1. The main reason behind the proxy wars has been
the threat of nuclear holocaust resulting in mutually
assured destruction. Drastic disaster that resulted from
drop of nuclear bombs on Heroshima and Nagasaki
terrified the whole world.
2. Proxy war is comparatively less expensive than the
direct engagement in war. A country may supply training,
funds, weapons, intelligence, personnel, or shelter or
some or all of them. In direct engagement, everything
comes at stake.
3. Independent conflicts may turn into proxy wars due
to the intervention of external powers. For example,
Spanish Civil War between Nationalists and Republicans
turned into a proxy war when Nazi German and its allies
started supporting Nationalists while USSR, Maxico and
others started supporting Republicans.
 4. Proxy war is also preferred when there is a difference in
military strength of two countries. For example, in Arab-
Israeli conflict, Israel is far superior in military strength
than the Arabs; therefore, Arabs are blamed that they
resort to funding terrorist organizations like Hezbollah
and Hamas.
5. Proxy war is also preferred when public is not in
support of direct war. For example, in Soviet-Afghan
war, American public had no interest in fighting a direct
war. Therefore, USA supported Afghan Mujahideen
against the USSR.
6. Saudi Arabia and Iran have very tense relations. They
may be punished economically by the imposition of
trade sanctions if they go against each other in direct
war. Therefore, they are fighting each other through
proxy wars in Syria and Yemen.

Proxy wars during Cold War Era: Although the first recorded

proxy war happened as early as in 1529, it was not common
until the Cold War set off by the ideological and political
differences between the two victors of the World War II. During the
Cold War, the two nuclear-armed superpowers did not wish to
exchange blows directly since that would have led to a devastating
nuclear war. Instead, both the U.S. and particularly the Soviet Union
sought to spread their own spheres of influence all over the world,
leading to many proxy wars such as one in Greek, Korea,
Afghanistan and notably Vietnam. The first proxy war was a civil
war in Greece between communists and non-communist. The
Korean War was a proxy war. In the Korean War, the United States
aided the South Koreans against the communist North Koreans who
were aided by the Soviets and the Chinese. The Vietnam War was
fought between the American backed South Vietnamese
government and the Soviet and Chinese backed North Vietnamese
government. In the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, the US was trying
to carry out a small proxy war. It wanted to get Cuban exiles to fight
so that it would not have to invade Cuba itself. In 1979 the United
States was still reeling from its’ war in Vietnam, and the public in
general were not in favor of another war the Soviets invaded
Afghanistan. United States aided and trained Mujahideen for
fighting against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan
States use proxies for many reasons. For the United States, the issue
is often cost: locals fight, and die, so that Americans do not have to.
In addition, because they are local, they are often (though not
always) more accepted by the affected communities, can better gain
intelligence from them by drawing on community ties, cultural
knowledge and a common language, and are less likely to promote a
nationalistic backlash that so often accompanies foreign
interventions. If the proxy is a guerrilla force, they often know the
terrain better and can blend in with the population in a way that
foreigners never could. For states like Iran, proxies are often the
only option. Most states lack the power projection capacity of the
United States and turn to proxies as a way to influence events far
from their borders. Iran lacks a navy or massive airlift capacity
necessary to sustain large forces in Yemen: supporting the Houthis
gives Tehran influence there nonetheless. Even major powers like
Russia lack sufficient air- and sea-lift capabilities, limiting
Moscow’s ability to use its own forces far from Russia’s borders.
Proxy Wars: Post-Cold War Policy
Policy on proxy wars has essentially remained unchanged since the
end of the Cold War. States utilize proxies as informal tools to
influence situations in a manner that would benefit their state. Since
the end of the Cold War, there have been numerous proxies in the
Middle East and across Africa.
1. Syrian Civil War 2011-Present: The civil uprising in Syria
followed in the footsteps of other uprisings in the Arab
world.However unlike in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt, the
Syrian uprising has resulted in aseemingly endless civil
war. Like the causes of the other uprisings, Syrians are
malcontent with their government. Syria has been
backed by Russia since 2015, while the United States
and Gulf States has provided logistical and military
support to various groups fighting Assad’s regime since
2013. Proxy warfare in Syria has led to endless cycle of
violence and bloodshed.
2. Yemen 2004 – Present: Yemen is a state that is seldom
mentioned in US media, but since 2004 there has been
isa minor proxy war involving Iran, Saudi Arabia and to a
lesser extent the US. Thesituation in Yemen is grounded
in a civil dispute between the Sunni led government and
the Houthis (Shiite rebels). The current incarnation of
Yemen’s woes dates to the Arab Spring of 2011, when
Gulf Arab states brokered a deal to remove longstanding
President Ali Abdullah Saleh and replace him with
President Abdo Rabbo Mansour Hadi.  Saleh refused to
fade away, instead lending his support to a rebellion by
the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. By March 2015, Mr.
Hadi had fled into exile in Saudi Arabia and the Houthis
had overrun the whole of western Yemen, including the
capital, Sanaa. Fearing an Iranian takeover, Saudi Arabia
and its allies launched a hurricane of airstrikes, targeting
the Houthis and units loyal to Saleh.
3. Lebanon War – 2006: For decades Lebanon has
unfortunately operated as a staging ground for proxy
wars between regional actors like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and
Syria as each nation vies for greater authority in the
region. The Lebanon war began with an attack by
 Hezbollah against Israel. The Iranians supported
Hezbollah and the United States supported Israel.
4. Proxy war in Afghanistan: Pakistan’s supported Afghan
Taliban in the past. Iran and India’s support for Northern
Alliance. Amid the US pullout from Afghanistan and the
Taliban’s rapid territorial gains, Iran has formed a new
Shia militia Hashd Al-Shi’i (Shiite Mobilisation) in the
country by rebranding the Fatemiyoun Unit. The move is
part of Iran’s “forward defence policy” to strategise its
Afghan policy after the US pullout by August 31, 2021.
5. Proxy war between India and Pakistan: Role of India in
supporting the militant and separatist elements in
Baluchistan. India’s support to TTP for wreaking havocs
in PakistaPresence of India-focused militant groups in
Pakistan and their activities in India. For long, Islamabad
has complained about Baloch insurgents taking
sanctuary across the border in Afghanistan and being
actively supported by India’s intelligence agency, RAW.

Possible Effects of Proxy Wars

1. Proxy wars result in tens of thousands of deaths, injuries
and disabilities because they last longer than direct wars.
2. Proxy wars also result in tens of thousands of
displacements and refugees because of long lasting
military actions which often target civilians.
3. In proxy wars, attacks are often made to destroy the
infrastructure like bridges, grid stations, universities,
hospitals, houses etc of the opponent. Proxy wars are
more dangerous than the direct wars.
4. Sponsoring countries spend huge amount of money to
support their clients. Billions of dollars are spent annually
in proxy wars—a non-value added activity.
5. Proxy wars destabilize the countries and the region. For
example, proxy wars between Saudi Arab and Iran,
between Israel and Palestine, between Pakistan and
India, between USA and USSR and China have resulted
in destabilization of their respective regions.