what is a proxy war?
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Take two sides who oppose each other, like the US and Russia. They don’t want to fight directly because this can lead to nuclear annihilation.
But maybe Russia is supporting another country’s activities. Syria, for example. The US could then fund and support a faction/army that is fighting against Syria.
This effectively is US money fighting against Russia’s money. A proxy war.
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A proxy war is when two big countries want to fight but they use smaller countries to do the fighting for them.
Well, when South Korea supplies Ukraine with weapons and North Korea supplies Russia with weapons, then war in Ukraine is proxy war between South and North Korea.
Humor aside, proxy is something or someone acting on behalf of someone else. So proxy war is war using proxies to do your fighting for you.
If you have two large countries of fairly equal size and power they might not want to go to war against each other. They might not win a large scale war and even if they win it will take a lot of resources and lives. So you end up with two countries trying to find other ways of hurting each other then a direct war.
They might find a smaller war to support in order to do this. It might be a civil war or a war between two minor countries. By supporting one side they can secure support in the future which will make the winning large country a bit stronger and the losing large country a bit weaker. So both countries end up providing equipment, ammunition, technology, intelligence or even soldiers to their side in the war. The two large countries are essentially fighting a war with each other but instead of a direct war it is a smaller proxy war.
I’m the green army. you are the brown army.
I cannot attack you or else you get up and step on my troops, you can’t attack me for the same reason.
But hey that guy with the blue troops is fighting with yellow troops…I like the blue troops. I’m going to help them. Oh no You like the yellow troops. Oh no we are at war…kind of. I mean not formally it is blue vs yellow. If a green or brown troop happens to die it is purely because they were on leave and decided to go to an active warzone for some silly reason.
anyone ‘not green’ and blue is fighting ‘not brown’ with yellow. Blue and yellow are going to take MOST of the losses but it is ultimately green vs brown and who wins
A *proxy,* in general, refers to something that stands in place of something else.
In climate science, as an example, there’s no way to directly measure the average global temperature in the past, so we drill ice cores out of Antarctica and measure the ratio of two types of water molecules. From that ratio, we can infer the average temperature and a couple other things; we say that the ratio is a *proxy* for the other values we’re measuring.
In computer science, a *proxy server* makes a request on behalf of the client, standing in the client’s place; for all intents and purposes, the proxy server is the client.
A *proxy war,* then, is a war instigated by a major player who, instead of getting involved themselves, funds or supplies another group to fight instead.
Timmy and Andy do not like each other. But Their moms told them to not fight eachother. So both of them convince Randy and tommy to fight in their name for rewards
The war in Gaza has characteristics of a proxy war, particularly involving Iran’s influence and activities. Iran and its allied groups, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and various militias in Syria, are heavily involved in the conflict. They aim to challenge US and Israeli influence in the region through military and logistical support to Hamas and other Palestinian factions.
Iranian-backed militias have expanded their operations, attacking American bases and interests beyond Gaza, including in Jordan, which indicates a broader regional strategy. This escalation highlights Iran’s intentions to destabilize US allies and spread its influence throughout the Middle East.
Additionally, Iran’s supply of weapons to Hezbollah and other groups, along with the strategic use of proxies, underscores its role in the conflict. The continued fighting and support from Iran to these groups suggest that the conflict in Gaza is not just a local struggle but part of a larger geopolitical battle involving multiple state and non-state actors.
This dynamic makes the Gaza conflict part of a wider proxy war in the Middle East, with Iran using it as a front to exert pressure on its adversaries, including Israel and the United States.
If Russia instigated the Hamas attack it would certainly gain from it, and that could also be characterized as a proxy war.
Two, or more, usually superpowers, but not always, supply weapons, expertise and possibly reason to two other countries who then fight but with a limited conflict. E.g., no nuclear, no advanced aircraft, etc. The goal is to show force in a limited manner so politicians can claim they are doing something to fight off the forces of evil while covertly testing weapons system and seeing what the real enemy has in their stockpiles.
Example:
USSR vs USA vs China in Vietnam.
Iran vs The Rest of the World in Gaza & Lebanon
There are plenty more.
Everybody chime in with your favorite proxy wars…
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