Introduction

Abstract

This chapter introduces the book and focuses on the need for a pragmatic yet rigorous study on proxy war. The chapter explains how the term proxy war carries a lot of baggage and how its usefulness has been overblown, largely due to Cold War influences that continue to dominate the contemporary view of indirect interventions involving a third party to influence civil affairs abroad. This view is antiquated and dangerous. Using proxy war as a means of indirect intervention requires considering both the policy’s utility—a short-term view that determines if a proxy can provide the ability to intervene—and the efficacy—a long-term view that evaluates the likelihood that supporting the chosen proxy can produce a desirable outcome. Proxy war offers an opportunity to help manage some of the uncertainty associated with indirect intervention, but is rarely a low-cost policy and it is never risk free.