Proxy Intervention in Civil Wars

Bibliographic Data

ID3917294
AuthorsBertil Dunér (Uppsala University, corresponding author)
Year1981
Volume18
Issue4
Pages353-361
Publication date1981-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Peace Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3433 • E-ISSN: 1460-3578
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/002234338101800404
OpenAlexW2166294177
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited13

Military intervention in civil wars by smaller states has often been interpreted as a sign of the increasing importance of indirect intervention as a means of foreign policy: the smaller intervening states are seen to have acted as the proxy of a major power. The Angola conflict in particular has been cited in this connection, and Cuba is often said to have intervened on behalf of the Soviet Union. Other examples have also been mentioned. However, it is not always clear what characterizes a proxy in this sense. This article tries to identify relevant criteria, and argues that a reasonable definition of a proxy relationship must be formulated in terms of power. Some of the instances of intervention by proxy mentioned in the literature are then examined in the light of this definition. In none of these is it possible to demonstrate that the intervening state actually acted as proxy for another. This conclusion may be the result of defective instruments of analysis, but it may also reflect the fact that interventions by proxy have not actually taken place

Computer security · Intervention (counseling) · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Proxy (statistics) · Psychological intervention · Sociology · Computer Science · Cuban History and Society · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Psychology