Making Sense of Proxy Wars: States, Surrogates and the Use of Force

Main author: Innes, Michael A.
Format: Edited Book or Journal Volume           
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id eprints-31886
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic JA Political science (General)
JZ International relations
description Public debate over surrogate forces and proxy warfare has been largely dormant since the end of the Cold War. The conventional wisdom has been that with the end of the U.S.- Soviet rivalry, state sources of support for proxy guerrilla, insurgent, and terrorist organizations dried up, forcing them to look to criminal activity to survive and precipitating the growth of dangerously independent and well-resourced militants, mercenaries, and warlords. But in the few years since 2001, a wide range of issues raised to prominence by wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere suggest that armed proxies, and the forces that drive and shape their use, are part of a larger dynamic. From the legacies of the wars in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Kashmir, to the growth of privatized security and military companies, and to increased reliance on intermediaries of all kinds, these surrogate forces bear further study.Making Sense of Proxy Wars is the first book to seriously challenge Cold War assumptions about terrorism and proxy warfare, offering an alternative view of armed surrogates—whether they are private armies, indigenous militias, or unwilling victims—as complex, selfinterested actors on the international stage.
author_additional Innes, Michael A.
author_additionalStr Innes, Michael A.
format Edited Book or Journal Volume
author Innes, Michael A.
author_facet Innes, Michael A.
authorStr Innes, Michael A.
author_letter Innes, Michael A.
title Making Sense of Proxy Wars: States, Surrogates and the Use of Force
publisher University of Nebraska Press
publishDate 2011
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/31886/