Contemporary Dynamics of Proxy Wars

Contemporary Dynamics of Proxy Wars proposes an analysis of proxy wars today with a focus on capturing and explaining the modalities in which proxy wars are, and will be, shaping the spectrum of violent politics from great power conflict to hybrid and cyber warfare. With civil wars in Syria, Sudan, Yemen, and Somalia becoming complex regional and international proxy wars, the concept is featuring prominently in policy discussions and national security strategies around the world.

Vladimir Rauta undertakes a qualitative analysis of a number of global proxy war case studies such as the Syrian civil war, the Yemeni civil war and Russian cyber warfare in Ukraine. Rather than conceptualising an overarching shift in war, this book explores the intersection of the range of contemporary wars with the notion of proxy war. In doing so it raises a key questions: will great power war be replaced by proxy war?

Vladimir Rauta is Lecturer in Politics and International Relations with the School of Politics, Economics, and International Relations at the University of Reading, UK.