Purposes and pitfalls of war by proxy: A systemic analysis

Seyom Brown

Small Wars and Insurgencies, 2016, vol. 27, issue 2, 243-257

Abstract: The structure of the emergent global system – a volatile ‘polyarchy’ of state and non-state actors – accentuates temptations to employ military proxies, but also multiplies the risks when the priorities of the patron states and their proxies diverge. The motivations of proxies and the interests of the countries employing them are hardly ever sufficiently close, and the command-and-control arrangements sufficiently tight, to ensure that the battlefield behavior of proxies will not distort the military strategies and political objectives of their patrons. This article offers guidelines for reducing the risks and minimizing the consequences of such loss of control.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1080/09592318.2015.1134047

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