I was recently contacted by a reader via direct message and asked about proxy wars, what they are and how they tie into modern international relations, especially as we seem to be increasingly returning to inter-state war.
That's actually quite a complex question, but the simplest answer I can give is that defining wars often depend on the perspective of the viewer, especially when looking at things from a state's POV. For example, the US is clearly at war with Iran now even though they never formally declared one. But their drone strikes on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula over the last decade are also not considered a formal war or even a proxy war supporting the states where those strikes take place. If you were to ask the average American which counts as a war, they'd likely choose the Iran conflict and say that drone strikes are counter-terrorism operations. Defining conflict is important for not just scholars and policy-makers, but the general population as well. Like I said, a complicated topic!
Yes very interesting, raises the question when is a war not a war.
That's actually quite a complex question, but the simplest answer I can give is that defining wars often depend on the perspective of the viewer, especially when looking at things from a state's POV. For example, the US is clearly at war with Iran now even though they never formally declared one. But their drone strikes on al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula over the last decade are also not considered a formal war or even a proxy war supporting the states where those strikes take place. If you were to ask the average American which counts as a war, they'd likely choose the Iran conflict and say that drone strikes are counter-terrorism operations. Defining conflict is important for not just scholars and policy-makers, but the general population as well. Like I said, a complicated topic!
Very informative Isaac thankyou
Thank you Mairead, glad you found it useful.