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(Top) Pre-World War I proxy wars. Inter-war period proxy wars. Cold War proxy wars. Modern proxy wars. Ongoing proxy wars. Notes. References. List of proxy wars. This is a list of proxy wars. Major powers have been highlighted in bold.
WarDatesCombatant 1Combatant 21944–1949 [26]CPC PLA [15] [16] Supported by: Soviet ...KMT NRA Supported by: United States1945–1946Azerbaijan People's Republic Republic of ...Imperial State of Iran Supported by: ...1946–1949 [27] [28]Greek communists ( Democratic Army of ...Greece [27] [28] Supported by: United ...1946–1954 [29] [30]Khmer Issarak [31] Pathet Lao [32] Viet ...France [29] [30] State of Vietnam ...List of conflicts related to the Cold War. While the Cold War itself never escalated into direct confrontation, there were a number of conflicts and revolutions related to the Cold War around the globe, spanning the entirety of the period usually prescribed to it (March 12, 1947 to December 26, 1991, a total of 44 years, 9 months, and 2 weeks).
ConflictStart DateEnd DateWestern Bloc RelatedDecember 3, 1944January 11, 1945Kingdom of Greece United Kingdom19441947 (1963)19441953Estonian partisans Latvian partisans ...August 17, 1945December 27, 1949Dutch East Indies United KingdomCold War coups and proxy wars were orchestrated and supported by the superpowers, to further their political ideologies and international influence.
Six of the Deadliest Proxy Wars of the Cold War. Stephanie Schoppert - January 8, 2017. The Cold War is so named because there was no large-scale fighting between the two sides and the two sides never declared war on each other…despite the obvious tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. But just because the United States and ...
- Overview
- Proxy wars in history
- Moral and strategic issues
proxy war, a military conflict in which one or more third parties directly or indirectly support one or more state or nonstate combatants in an effort to influence the conflict’s outcome and thereby to advance their own strategic interests or to undermine those of their opponents. Third parties in a proxy war do not participate in the actual fighti...
Proxy wars have a long history in world affairs. Nations and empires have used them as both military and foreign policy strategies to influence or even subdue neighbouring states. The Byzantine Empire (330–1453), for example, instigated proxy wars by deliberately stoking hostilities between different groups within rival nations. It then backed the strongest side when civil war broke out. During World War I, Britain and France used a similar strategy by supporting the Arab Revolt (1916–18) against the Ottoman Empire. Likewise, the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) was a proxy conflict between Republican forces, supported by the Soviet Union, and Nationalist forces, supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Notably, Germany used the civil war to test new weapons technologies on the Spanish population.
As the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union grew during the 1950s and ’60s, the intense competition between the two countries raised the spectre that direct conflict would lead to global annihilation. Proxy wars became a more acceptable way for the two superpowers to compete for world influence. During the Cold War, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China engaged in several proxy wars, including the Angolan civil war (1975–2002). The Vietnam War (1954–75) was a major proxy war for the Soviet-Chinese coalition that supported North Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces and the defeat of South Vietnam achieved the coalition’s goals of limiting American influence in the region and increasing its own.
During the 1980s, after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan to install a new Afghan communist government, the United States acted as a third party in a proxy war that pitted Afghan and Soviet troops against Islamic guerrillas, who were supplied with weapons and other military equipment by the U.S. government. The cost of the Afghan War of 1978–92 crippled the Soviet Union and contributed to its eventual downfall.
Proxy wars have continued into the 21st century. Notable examples include a civil war in Yemen, begun in 2014, involving a major clash between the militant Houthi movement, supported by Iran, and Yemeni government forces, supported by Saudi Arabia and its allies. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United States and its NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies acted as third-party supporters of Ukraine, supplying that country with significant military assistance and imposing economic sanctions on Russia, while China and Iran acted as third-party supporters of Russia.
Engaging in proxy wars carries significant moral and strategic risks, particularly for democratic countries that support constitutional government and human rights. These risks include:
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•Facilitating the emergence of a political or military dictatorship. Such antidemocratic governments could emerge from a successful proxy war if the surrogate’s goals happen to be inconsistent with its supporter’s democratic values and morals.
•Widening local military conflicts. Supplying weapons, military equipment, and other provisions to surrogates can result in the loss or covert sale of such matériel to other militant groups.
•Failing to achieve strategic or foreign policy goals and losing influence and resources as a result. China, the United States, and Russia have all experienced such losses when they were defeated in proxy wars.
This interactive map examines eight of the Cold War’s most important “hot wars,” and why the United States and Soviet Union got involved.
May 25, 2023 · Eight “Hot Wars” During the Cold War. The United States and the Soviet Union never directly clashed, but the Cold War was far from bloodless. From Cuba to Korea, explore the proxy wars...
