Proxy War Research Articles

Circumventing Sanctions: The Impact of Sino-Iranian Relations On Iran Within The Middle-East Power Constellation (Case Study of Iran-Israel Proxy War in Syria)

Due to its hostile behavior in the Middle East, Iran has been sanctioned severely by the international community. Despite isolation attempts by the international community, Iran is nevertheless regarded as a powerhouse in the regional power constellation, owing to its actions in the Middle-Eastern proxy wars. Acknowledging the anomaly of Iran’s capabilities in spite of heavy sanctions, this research arguably shows how Sino-Iranian relations paves the way for Iran to circumvent sanctions. Subsequent to learning about China’s support for Iran, this research questions if the aforementioned support has an impact on Iran’s actions and status within the regional power constellation. Furthermore, this research also questions the influence of Iran and China’s relations towards the former’s ability in pursuing its aims through the Syrian proxy war against Israel in the account of international sanctions and condemnations. Guided by the concept of balancing by Stephen M. Walt and an exploitative model of proxy warfare theory, this research finds the Sino-Iranian relations as having a significant effect towards improving Tehran’s capabilities and acquisition of power in the Middle-East power constellation. Moreover, concerning the Iran-Israel proxy war, China’s actions are proven to mainly affect Iran and the Syrian civil war within the political sphere.

The Death of Law

Abstract This is a talk about the decline and fall of constitutional law, an overarching characteristic of the new millennium. I focus on the period from the end of the Cold War—once described as the end of history—to what I call the “Second Cold War” beginning in the second decade of this century and having escalated in the proxy war in Ukraine. The Second Cold War is also characterized by an aborted cooptation of China through the World Trade Organization (to tame China’s seemingly unstoppable ascension to global supremacy) as well as a state of permanent emergency.

Beyond exception: the Irish border and the limits of cosmopolitan nationalism

ABSTRACT Much debate surrounding Brexit and its implications for the Irish Border has leant on exceptionality, framed within the historical context of the ethnonational dispute between Ireland and the UK, with causality for Brexit fixed in anachronistic and unattainable imperial nationalist understandings of territorial sovereignty emanating from the English core. The Irish border resonates at both historical and metaphorical levels; it was the site of disproportionate levels of fatal political violence and has acted as an ideological battleground in the longer-term proxy war between the Irish and British patron states. Deep concern remains about the potential for Brexit to undo the progress made towards peace on the island. Yet the immediate threat now facing the border is one of unexceptional forces of neoliberalism, in which fears around resurgent ethnic conflict have been subordinated to those of market maintenance and stability. This paper considers the neglected role of, and implications for cosmopolitan nationalism under this new dispensation, identifying the Eurocentric understandings of diversity upon which the openness of borders such as that on the island of Ireland are contingent. For Ireland and Europe more generally, this necessitates a fuller reckoning with the multiple implications of ‘empire’ beyond the immediate British melancholic context.

The Role of Finance in Ensuring the Economic Security of Russia in the Conditions of the Geopolitical Transformation of the World Economy

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia regained its sovereignty and embarked on the path of building a democratic (capitalist) state with a market economy. At the same time, the country's economy to this day (more than 30 years) is characterized as a transitional one, with an unstable national currency and financial system. The article substantiates the role of finance in the geopolitical transformation of the world economy in the context of deepening crisis phenomena, increased competition and contradictions in the global market in connection with the geo-economic redistribution of the world, the strengthening of the Western countries, primarily the United States and Great Britain, of a hybrid war against Russia and the organization of a proxy war through Ukraine. These circumstances lead to the need for the state to move from an ultra-liberal model of economic management to a planned-market, result-oriented, import substitution, economic growth (above the world level) based on the modernization of production. This requires increasing the powers of the state in the management of reproductive processes, sets the task of a deep theoretical understanding of the problems of financial security including in the aspect of transformation of management to unconditionally ensure the sovereignty of the country, its national and economic security. In this regard, it is necessary to restructure the system of state institutions to ensure the formation and implementation of large-scale modernization projects in the medium and long term on a scientific basis; stable economic growth; increasing the competitiveness of Russia, taking into account the growing uncertainty of economic relations between countries; spread of digital technologies. At the same time, it is necessary to take into account the historical world and domestic experience in the development of production processes.

Russo-Ukraine War: Drawing a Parallel with the Second World War and Cold War

The paper drew parallels between the Russo- Ukraine war and the Second World War and Cold War. A contextual between these events and eras were described in the study. The similarities were pointed out, a conjecture between the eras was reviewed, and a comparison of NATO and Russia’s National Interests were studied side by side as it concerns the nations border states with Russia. The study relied on documentary data. The documentary data were sourced from government annual departmental reports, newspapers and correspondence. The secondary sources used were subjected to internal and external criticism for authentication, and then to textual and contextual analyses. The study found that the Russo- Ukraine war was a proxy war. The paper proved that a parallel between the events under study can indeed be drawn. A core contribution of this study is the correlation between the eras and the similarities of both periods The study proves that Russia has a Nuclear edge over NATO.

Hibrit, Asimetrik ve Vekalet Savaşları: 2022 Rusya - Ukrayna Savaşını Üçlü Sacayağı Üzerinde Bir İnceleme

Savaşın değişen doğasını anlayabilmek için kullanılan kavramlar arasında hibrit savaş, asimetrik savaş ve vekâlet savaşı kavramları ön plana çıkmaktadır. Savaşın bu gibi farklı perspektiflerden analiz edilmesi, hem savaşın değişen doğasını ve savaş ortamını anlamlandırmada, hem de savunma mekanizmalarının şekillendirilmesinde önem taşımaktadır. Bu nedenle bu çalışmanın amacı, 24 Şubat 2022 günü başlayan Rusya-Ukrayna savaşının Nisan 2022 itibarıyla yaklaşık iki aylık dilimini hibrit, asimetrik ve vekâlet savaşları perspektifinde incelemek ve bir savaş ortamında kamu güvenliğine yönelik tehditler konusunda çıkarımlarda bulunmaktır. Bu inceleme, savaş hakkında yerli ve yabancı basında yer alan haberlerin ve görüşlerin analiz edilmesi ile yapılmıştır. Sonuç olarak Rusya-Ukrayna Savaşı’nın hibrit, asimetrik ve vekâlet savaşlarının özelliklerini yansıttığı görülmüştür. Ayrıca bu savaş ile birlikte uluslararası ilişkiler anlamında sert gücün öneminin yeniden anlaşıldığı; hibrit savaşa karşı en etkili kalkanın devlet organları ve halk arasında etkili bir güven duygusunu tesis etmek olduğu ve savaşın, asimetrik savaş ve vekâlet savaşının özeliklerini yansıtması nedeniyle uzun sürebileceği de altı çizilmesi gereken noktalardandır.

BİR SAVAŞ STRATEJİSİ OLARAK CİNSEL ŞİDDETİN FEMİNİST TEORİ VE ULUSLARARASI HUKUK AÇISINDAN DEĞERLENDİRİLMESİ

Savaşın değişen geleneği içerisinde kadın, çatışmanın amaçlarına ulaşmak açısından tek kilit nokta olarak düşünülmeye başlanmıştır. Uluslararası sistemin gelişen yapısı sayesinde konvansiyonel silahların yerini alan yok edici özellikteki birçok nükleer silahın kazanımı, ülkelerin geleneksel savaşlara bakışını değiştirmiştir. Bu yüzden son yüzyılın yıkıcı iki büyük savaşı, ulus devletlerarası silahlı çatışmalardan devletleri uzak tutmaya yetmiştir. Bu silahların caydırıcı varlığı neticesinde ortaya çıkan birçok savaş türü, kadını çatışmanın tam da ortasına oturtmuştur. Özellikle vekâlet savaşları, hibrit savaşlar ve orta yoğunluklu çatışma gibi adlarla anılan bu yeni savaşlarda devletler, ekonomik çıkarlarını ön planda tutmuş ve istenilen amaca ulaşabilmek için ahlaki sonuçları tartışmaya açık olan nesebin uzun vadede planlanan değişimini esas alan bir anlayışı savaş aracı olarak kullanmaya yönelmişlerdir. Erkeğin toprak üzerindeki hâkimiyetinin diğer tarafında bulunan kadın, bu savaş ve zafer anlayışı açısından hedefin kendisi olmuştur. Onun toplum ve kültürü doğurganlığıyla yeniden inşa etme erki erkek egemen dünya anlayışında hedefe ulaşmanın maliyetsiz aracı olmuştur.

The Crisis of Democracy and the Problem of Democratic Peace

The author analyzes three waves of the crisis of democracy during the 20th and early 21st centuries. The first crisis of democracy in the early 20th century is caused by the emergence and development of public politics, which challenged the possibility to govern the masses having conflict potential, it balanced the power of the people and universal suffrage with the control of the media in order to maintain the stability of political system. The second wave of the crisis of democracy (the last third of the 20th century) is associated with the destruction of the conventional world and the weakening of the nation-state; and its markers were: the imbalance between the branches of government, the domination of economics over politics, the predominance of equality over freedom, the problematic implementation of human rights, and, as a consequence, the inability to put into practice the national form of democracy. The third wave of crisis (early the 21st century) is accompanied by the transformation of democracy into post-democracy, in which the power of the people is replaced by the power of global capital, and the illusion of consent is reinforced by the prohibition of alternative points of view and the narrowing of the space of issues allowed for discussion in the name of public security. The crisis of the policy to achieve peace through the transformation of the balance of powers into a balance of interests called into question the principles of democracy. On the contrary, post-democracies justify the use of force to spread democracy around the world, and they take an active part in contemporary military conflicts, which can rightly be defined as hybrid proxy wars. Drawing on J. Habermas’s concept of communicative rationality, the author concludes that to overcome the crisis of democracy it is necessary to accept the very possibility of an alternative to this form of government and allow to discuss these previously marginalized issues as well as to maintain the return of the majority to genuine communication and politics, contribute to its enlightenment.

Bloody years of the Jewish Insurgency in British Mandatory Palestine 1939-1948: From the White Paper to the State of Israel

This review article focuses on Jewish insurgency under the British mandate for Palestine from 1939 to 1948. The Jewish guerrilla campaign represents a successful case study in the field of the research on small wars and insurgency, proxy wars. The authors analyze the early phase of the British Mandate in 1918-1939, referred to as the prelude to the subsequent Jewish uprising; a period when Jewish paramilitary groups including the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi emerged and developed, emphasizing their ideological underpinnings, operational and tactical strategies of warfare, and the material capacities that these organizations possessed. The authors primarily emphasize the period from the initiation of the White Paper in 1939 until the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948. British restrictions on Jewish immigration and the beginning of the Second World War stimulated the Jewish forces to a massive terrorist campaign against the British resulting in an unprecedented Zionist victory.

Can small states wage proxy wars? A closer look at Lithuania’s military aid to Ukraine

Proxy wars are an increasingly common feature of great power competition in the 21st century. In this context, the role of the small states is less clear and has not been properly addressed in the academic literature. Although states of this type have often been chosen as battlegrounds for such wars and have even acted as proxies for the superpowers, this article argues that they are also capable of conducting proxy warfare themselves. Since the start of the 2014 conflict in Donbas, Eastern Ukraine, this country has experienced proxy interventions from many external actors, both large and small, that provided resources to both conflict parties. One of the smallest states which has been trying to affect the course of this conflict in support of the Ukrainian government is Lithuania. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with the security and defence policy-makers in Vilnius, the article aims to explain why Lithuania is punching above its weight and interfering with this conflict from backstage. The empirical evidence points to an almost perfect alignment of interests between the current governments in Kiev and Vilnius in that they both see Russia as their long-term ‘enemy’ which makes Ukraine a surprisingly suitable proxy for Lithuania to exploit.

Философия войны: формирование современного дискурса

Introduction. The armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is fully supported by the so- called collective West, has brought the world to the brink of a global war. There has not been such a large-scale military confrontation in Europe since the Second World War. At the same time, it is not clear to what extent the escalation of the conflict is justified, where is the line beyond which none of the parties will not only be able to achieve military- political goals, but also catastrophic consequences will arise on a continental, and even global scale. It is not surprising that war as a social phenomenon has now moved to the epicenter of scientific inter- est in various disciplines — from narrow military experts to philosophers, who are expected to make assessments, forecasts, and recommendations for political elites and the entire world community. The purpose of the study is to characterize the modern philosophical discourse about the war, to identify the main trends in its change. Methods. Within the framework of the system ap- proach, we consider war as a complex, multi-level, open system that is in deep interaction and mutual influence with the external environment (political, economic, social, ideological, scientific and techno- logical, etc.). We use structural-functional analysis, as well as general scientific methods: abstraction, comparison, description and explanation. Scientific novelty of the study. The authors give characteristic of the philosophical discourse of war, and consider its main variants. Results. New means of armed violence, as well as methods and mechanisms for inflicting economic, political and psychological damage on the enemy, are making significant changes to the content of modern wars. In scientific and popular literature, the concepts of “information warfare”, “psycho- logical warfare”, “new cold war”, “proxy war”, “and cyber war” are increasingly used. We have considered the correlation of their content with the content of the category “war”, which is basic for the philosophical doctrine of war and the army. The philosophical discourse on war is undergoing inevitable changes. This is connected not only with the development of the categorical apparatus, but also with clarifying the boundaries of the discursive field — the expansion of areas for understanding the processes taking place in the military, military- political, military-economic, military-social and military-ideological areas. Results. War as a social phenomenon still requires its philosophical understanding, primarily in con- nection with the changes that are taking place in the military and related fields. At the same time, the philosophical heritage in this area should not be discarded as overcome by a new discourse, but developed taking into account modern economic, political, technological and cultural realities. At the same time, it is not possible to form a universal philosophical discourse about the war. This would be contrary to the essence of philosophy as a sphere of free search for truth.

A New Westphalia in MENA after the Arab Revolutions

AbstractViolent struggles in the Middle East and North Africa have led many experts to compare this era to the Thirty Years’ War, a set of interlinked and extremely deadly and destructive conflicts in Europe (1618‐48). Like that conflagration four centuries ago, they involve internal uprisings, civil conflicts, proxy wars, foreign intervention, geopolitical struggles, great‐power competition, and the participation of many regional political players. At root, all these conflicts are fights for sovereignty, one of the most important pillars upon which the state is based, the violation of which often leads to the outbreak of war. For this reason, many assert that the time is right to try to solve contemporary problems by forging a new Westphalia treaty. This study analyzes the Thirty Years’ War and the groundbreaking treaty that emerged from it, then presents a strategy to preserve state sovereignty and seek peace in the region.

역내 두 패권국 간 지속되는 충돌과 완충국의 죽은 국가화: 레바논 사례 연구

This study analyzes how continuous conflicts between Israel and Iran which are known as two hegemonies in the region, affect converting Lebanon’s status from a buffer to a death. Since 1990, when Iran’s Influence began to expand after the Iraq and Iran War, the conflicts between Israel and Iran have continued until these days. In these conflicts, Lebanon has been a location of a proxy war between Israel and Iran and lost its buffer’s neutrality and roles. On the other hand, Lebanon is close to losing its right of control amid hegemonic conflicts. Thus, Lebanon has been converted into a death state which cannot make independent decisions. Accordingly, this study claims that the continuous conflicts between two hegemonies have a massive effect on a country’s status.

Iran’s changing naval strategy in the Persian Gulf: motives and features

ABSTRACT Beginning in 2016 Iran’s naval posture in the Persian Gulf changed from a defensive-offensive strategy, which had been in effect since 2001, to an offensive one. This was reinforced in 2019–2020, when, in response to the Trump administration, Iranian military strategists determined that any potential confrontation with the country’s adversaries is likely to take place at sea rather than on land or in the air. After the end of the Iran–Iraq war, Iran’s naval strategies can be divided into three, each coinciding with different periods: defensive (1988–2001), defensive-offensive (2001–2016) and offensive (since 2016). The intensification of the US military presence in the Persian Gulf and issuing threats against Iran have played a central role Tehran’s adoption of an offensive naval strategy. Features of this new strategy include the development of ballistic and cruise missile programmes; development and deployment of drones in naval manoeuvres; the use of air defence in supporting naval operations; deepening Iran’s military presence in Persian Gulf islands; ensuring the ability to disrupt the flow of energy; conducting naval manoeuvres in collaboration with trans-regional powers and continued use of proxy warfare. Tehran believes the new strategy will help it better prepare for international threats.

Managing the China, India and Pakistan Nuclear Trilemma: Ensuring Nuclear Stability in the New Nuclear Age

ABSTRACT The beginning of the nuclear age coincided with the beginning of the Cold War. The politics of the bipolar world, with two nuclear hegemons enjoying nuclear superpower status, shaped the nuclear order. At one level, it would appear to be a success because it helped create and sustain a nuclear taboo that has lasted for 75 years. However, the world has changed. The notions of “nuclear parity” and “mutual vulnerability” that made it possible to reduce strategic stability to nuclear stability and created the enabling conditions for bilateral nuclear arms control have given way to asymmetry with nuclear multipolarity. This has led to the unravelling of the old arms control mechanisms and a concern that the nuclear taboo may be eroding. The United States and the USSR had no territorial disputes; instead, their rivalry played out in the form of proxy wars. Today, nuclear rivals are often neighbours. Their disputes relate to issues of national sovereignty. Further, nuclear dyads have given way to trilemmas and nuclear chains. Technological developments generate further challenges for arms control. More usable nuclear weapons, dual use systems, a renewed offence-defence spiral with missile defences and hypersonics, and growing offensive cyber and space capabilities that make for nuclear entanglement demand a fresh look at arms control and nuclear stability. In the China-India-Pakistan trilemma, proposals have to take cognisance of the new political realities to break out of the cycle of mistrust and reduce risks of both misperceptions and miscalculation that could lead to inadvertent escalation.

Understanding Shifts in US Policies towards the Taliban: A Critical Analysis

The ‘war on terror’ produced discourses, which elevated terrorism as a primary threat to international peace and security and justified the overthrow of regimes that were suspected of supporting terrorism. After two decades, the United States (US) seeks to wind down the war, including through negotiations with groups that it once regarded as terrorist or complicit in terrorism. This article takes a critical approach to examine these shifts in US policy in relation to the Taliban in Afghanistan. It conceives the Taliban as a networked movement that consisted of local roots, transnational jihadist ties and connections to Pakistan’s proxy war in Afghanistan. The article then identifies and problematises key assumptions of American discourses by assessing them against local patterns of terrorism and (in)security and the Taliban’s violent tactics. Drawing on US sources, it finds that the US discourses shifted over time between various aspects of the Taliban movement as signifiers of its identity to justify shifting Washington’s priorities in Afghanistan. These discursive shifts, which reflected US policy priorities, introduced uncertainties and contradictions that contributed to the failure of the war efforts in Afghanistan. Analyse critique des changements survenus dans la politique américaine à l’égard des talibans

REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN SOUTH ASIA: UTOPIA OR REALITY?

South Asia comprises almost one-quarter of the world’s population. It faces a host of disputes of varying natures, including armed conflicts, proxy wars, and religious and ethnic strife. Despite its deplorable state of human security and impoverished people, South Asia is considered the least integrated region globally. Approximately 1.99 billion people suffer in terms of energy, food, water and health security due to conflicts and hostile interstate relationships. This paper analyses the socio-political and security environment of the region and explores the impediments to regional integration. Focusing on the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, it highlights that the idea of regional integration cannot be realized without resolving core issues. Economic cooperation between regional countries can only be achieved if integration models like the European Union and Association of South East Asian Nations are considered with necessary deviations. Bibliography Entry Niaz, Muhammad Tariq. 2022. "Regional Integration in South Asia: Utopia or Reality?" Margalla Papers 26 (1): 108-120.

Reasons for NATO’s and Russian involvement in the Syrian crisis; comparative analysis of realist and humanitarian perspectives

The Syrian crisis, which has been often described as a proxy war between NATO and Russia, has lasted for more than 10 years with no visible sign of an end. Most scholars explain the reasons behind NATO’s and Russian intervention with realistic motives. However, there are cases difficult to explain only from a realist perspective. For example, great power diplomatic efforts to remove chemical weapons and adopt sanctions at the cost of energy interests. These actions can be viewed as humanitarian involvement. The study argues that great powers’ motivation cannot be judged uniformly, but their actions should be evaluated separately, as some actions might be realist and some humanitarian, and some a mixture of both. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons behind great powers’ involvement in the Syrian crisis by examining key decisions each power took during the war, from both aspects: realist and humanitarian. The study begins by outlining the theoretical background behind both perspectives and establishing criteria for judging a decision as realist/ humanitarian. This has been applied in reviewing the context behind five key decisions NATO (the US and European allies) and Russia made during the crisis. The study finds that one time all parties acted in a realist fashion, which produced no significant outcome. Contrary to this, one time all parties acted on humanitarian motives, which resulted in a favorable outcome. In the case when two parties, the US and Russia, acted as a realist, and the EU as humanitarian power, the EU’s efforts were insufficient to produce a favorable outcome. In other cases, when two parties, the EU and the US, pursued humanitarian motives, and Russia realist, the result depended on whether Russia pursued them actively or non-actively. In the former case, the result was ineffective to prevent further atrocities, whereas in the latter favorable outcome was still possible.

러시아-우크라이나 전쟁: 의미와 영향

The purpose of this study is to explore the background and meaning of the Russian-Ukraine war, and to analyze its impact. The Russian-Ukrainian war bears a complex character, as suggested by what Russia calls ‘special military operation’. The war carries characteristics of proxy war in the geopolitical competition, identity conflicts reflecting concerns of losing Slavic identity, and thus ‘limited war’ that military victory should be limited. This multidimensional nature of the war has posed difficulties in understanding the feature of the war as well as its prospects and consequences.BR This study analyzes the nature of war from the perspectives of ‘special military operation’ as President Putin put it, geopolitical rivalry between Russia and the West/U.S., and the competition between the development models that Russia and U.S. recognize as a main source of challenges against international order, as well as their own national security. In addition, this study focuses on the possible ‘domestic renewal’ in terms of competition for development models that is likely to occur in Russia in the form of ‘social reconstruction’ and ‘restrictions on freedom’ through and after the war.BR In this war no country may claim a victory. For Russia, achieving the minimum requirement for victory may lead it to emerging Ukraine national identity and continuing economic sanctions; for U.S, a victory against Russia may lead to a closer Sino-Russian relations that constitutes a major obstacle to US strategy towards China in the Asia-Pacific rim. The war may bring us a new international order; but both strategical and practical perspectives demand us to maintain ties with Russia.

3. The solution to the sectarian problems of the Muslim Ummah in the light of Sira-e-Taiba

The Muslim nation (Ummah) has also been named Ummat-e-Wusta in Holy Quran. It carries the message of moderation, serenity and unity among humans. This Ummah can seek proper guidance in the seerah of Holy Prophet (PBUH) regarding their individual and collective problems. The whole life of Holy Prophet (PBUH) is a beacon of light for the Ummah. So, first of all we should find the major problems confronting the Ummah then we will try to understand the solution of these problems with the help of Prophet’s (PBUH) life. Muslim Ummah has dispersed on basis of language, creed and jurisprudence. Such sectarian differences have led this Ummah to severe controversies and proxy wars among different countries. Ethnic differences have also affected a large part of the Muslim world. Hate-based lectures, biased speeches and writing have set this Ummah in hand to hand fight. The syllabus of academic institution is deprived of subjects of Seerah of Prophet (PBUH). On the other hand, there are many things in syllabus that lead to sectarianism and improve racism. Another important issue is the aggressive and ignorant so-called religious leadership that leads the masses.
 In short, there is the proper guidance in the seerah of Holy Prophet (PBUH) regarding solution of the creed and jurisprudent differences, linguistics and ethical variances, hate and love, the principles of training, leadership and especially religious leadership, education and mutual social relationship. All of this is in the guidance of the Prophet’s (PBUH) life.