But that phrase gets tossed around too carelessly and comes with some dangerous myths. Syria s civil war could evolve into a wider regional war. May 24, 2018 if anything, the syrian civil war is a typical example of a proxy war, with the syrians themselves getting increasingly irrelevant to how the conflict would play out. This conflict has resulted in, among other things, the syrian civil war, the rise of isil, the current civil war in yemen, and the reemergence of the taliban citation needed. Proxy war is the intervention of a third party in one of the factions to fight another faction. The implications of the syrian war for new regional orders. Syria, a civil, sectarian and proxy war the elders. Therefore, the syria crisis turned to a proxy war involving first the public uprisings, then civil war, and then the regional powers. In march 2011 antigovernment protests broke out in syria, inspired by a wave of similar demonstrations elsewhere in the middle east and north africa that had begun in december 2010. Mar 11, 2020 washington and tel aviv are still actively coordinating their efforts to destabilize syria. In pursuit of a general theory of proxy warfare association of the. Iran began its military involvement in syria in 2011, at the outbreak of the civil war. Iran uses proxies to punch above its weight in the middle.
Download the brief the issue there is growing iranian activism in the middle east despite u. The goal of setting forth this theory of proxy warfare is to generate better conceptual. We explain how and why the country has recruited an army of its own people to help prop up president assad. Now that it is evident that the russians value outcome of the syrian war highly, and that they have good reasons for doing so, let us run through the basic state of play. The outcome is a complex pattern of conflict which the author of this article argues is indeed different from a proxy war. Absent a major provocation, western military intervention seems unlikely. Oct 24, 2019 an evil proxy war continues to rage in syria, where there are fears about demographic change and the future of the countrys minorities, the revd nadim nassar, a syrianborn priest in the church of england, said this week.
But the idea that these groups are solely operating as proxy actors is a misapprehension. The syrian civil war has implications for actors outside of syria s borders. To understand this, it is interesting to examine the extensive role of strategy within the syrian crisis, whose consequences will impact the future of syria and the stability of the entire region. The arab spring and the syrian civil war as well as the lone wolf attack is islamic state are one. Lakhdar brahimi discusses the conflict in syria, from the biggest difficulties he faces to what will bring an end to the war, in an indepth interview with politically speaking, the bulletin of the united nations department of political affairs. A proxy war, for those of you who do not know, is a war that a country fights through other groups or without the direct involvement of its military. The syrian conflict is viewed as a proxy warfare between the us and russia, andor. There is a strong internal dimension to the war in syria but it has been obscured by various layers and dimensions of outside intervention and agendas. Proxy war meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. The alliance between syria and iran and the formation of the so called axis of resistance is one of the most fascinating and enduring example of a regional alliance, a pillar of syria foreign policy and a determining factor in the trajectory of the. Pdf it has been seven years since the beginning of the syrian civil war. If anything, the syrian civil war is a typical example of a proxy war, with the syrians themselves getting increasingly irrelevant to how the conflict would play out. Suppose america gave a proxy war in syria and nobody. Aug 14, 2012 syria s national flag flies during the flag raising ceremony at the olympic village in london on july 25, 2012.
This edited collection makes no attempt to speculate on the outcome of international attempts to resolve the syrian conflict, but aims instead to examine the historical background that has laid the objective conditions for syria s descent to its current situation. With proxy wars being currently waged in the drc, syria. In syria s civil war, tens of thousands of hezbollah fighters and iraniantrained shiite militia backed by russian air power shored up the regime of bashar alassad, pushing back. The 8 proxy wars going on in syria right now huffpost. Irans surge for the assad regime iran has reshaped its military activities in syria over the course of the civil war. There has been an increase in the size and capabilities of militias supported by the islamic revolutionary guards corpsquds force in iraq, syria, lebanon, and yemen collectively. Syria has been a major theater in the proxy conflict throughout its ongoing civil war, which began in 2011. Syrian soldiers under attack sunday in hama province. From national independence to proxy war springerlink. The syrian regime wants to stay in power at any cost while there was certainly a civil popular opposition in syria when the uprising first began.
As figure 1 illustrates, a quick scan of the globe shows proxies fighting on behalf of partners from ukraines donbas region to the euphrates river valley in syria and iraq, as well as points in between. The paper will contextualize and frame the syrian war s main developments that, as. Syria has been at the receiving end of those dynamics since 2011, and in the imminent post war period, the legacy and lessons of what occurred in syria will once again reshape other parts of the middle east. The syrian conflict appears to have devolved into a proxy war among world powers. Russia a look inside a fight for power behind the battlefield scene in syria. Iran and hezbollah joined the war in 20 next to the assad forces. Who is winning the proxy war between moscow and washington. Until recently, it appeared to me that syria was a proxy.
States engage in proxy war for numerous reasons, the most important of which is the avoidance of direct conflict, especially with a state of greater or equal strength. Assads foreign supporters, such as iran, russia, and hezbollah are in it for themselves. Mar 11, 2019 download the brief the issue there is growing iranian activism in the middle east despite u. Proxy warfare, syria, syrian conflict, iran, saudi arabia. Proxy server list this page provides and maintains the largest and the most uptodate list of working proxy servers that are available for public use. How to understand syrias proxy war and whos fighting. Sep 29, 2016 how to understand syrias proxy war and whos fighting for whom. Saudi arabia and iran in yemens civil war further triggered and complicated the already existing tensions in the country. Our powerful software checks over a million proxy servers daily, with most proxies tested at least once every 15 minutes, thus creating one of.
Turkeys ongoing fighting in northern syrias idlib governorate was from the beginning of recent escalations clearly a continuation of washingtons wider now 9 yearlong proxy war against damascus. Usisrael predictably behind turkish aggression in syria. For syria, iraq, and turkey, this is more a war than a proxy war. While there is a strong element of a proxy war behind the fighting in syria, the forces and interests involved are best understood in terms of interstate relations going back more than a decade. Middle east, some minor exceptions such as andrew mumfords short case study of iranian proxy warfare in iraq since 2003 aside. During the cold war the term proxy war was used and misused to such extend that all wars during this period was denominated as a proxy war. This paper argues that the impact of the eightyear war in syria will reverberate. How to understand syrias proxy war and whos fighting for whom september 29, 2016 5. In this context, the main research question of the study is as. As the syrian conflict has become ever more important to this array of powers, they.
A proxy war occurs when a major power instigates or plays a major role in supporting and directing a party to a conflict but does only a small portion of the actual fighting itself. For a more detailed description, see hughes, my enemys enemy. This edited collection aims to analytically reconceptualise the syrian crisis by. The syrian war, which entered its tenth year this week, has become shameless, a syrian born priest in the church of england, the revd nadim nassar, said this week. The implications of the syrian war for new regional orders in. Operations by georgian troops in south ossetia and abkhazia in 200822 and civil unrest in ukraine23 against the prorussian government in 2014, were both supported politically and militarily by the us and eu, emerged as a proxy war between the us and russia in the form of civil war. Iran and the gcc states have provided varying degrees of military and financial support to opposing sides, with iran backing the government and saudi arabia supporting rebel militants. Their military forces are engaged in the war fully. In syria, both the bosnia and iraq analogies should point us toward a greater understanding of the proxy war problem in modern civil wars. The treaty was in part a reconciliation between saudi arabia and iran, which told their proxy groups that participated in the war to settle their differences. It appears clear that the syrian crisis reflects a proxy war between regional rivals. The risk of syria becoming a proxy war between the u. This study analyzes the implications of the syria policies of the united states, russia and china with regard to the international system within the framework of the great power politics. The iranian revolutionary guard corps quds force perfected its proxy doctrine during the fight in syria, using asymmetric units as the main ground force but allowing the use of regular military units as support elements if needed.
Although it was initially peaceful, at least on the part of the demonstrators, the brutal and violent responses of the assad. The conflict in syria is a multiproxy war in which international, competing interests carry out their battles in syria, demolishing the countrys hope of. May 19, 2017 why is iran involved in a proxy war in syria. In an effort to undermine iran by overthrowing its strategic ally, syria, western nations are using their middle east client states to conduct a multipronged.
Although it was initially peaceful, at least on the part of the demonstrators, the brutal and violent responses of the assad regime, particularly the gratuitous viciousness. The alternative, though, may be a long and bitter war in syria that risks engulfing the region. I feel i see the ugliest face of politics i have ever seen even worse than what i saw during the civil war in lebanon, fr nassar, the director of the awareness foundation, said on tuesday. Syria has been at the receiving end of those dynamics since 2011, and in the imminent postwar period, the legacy and lessons of what occurred in syria will once again reshape other parts of the middle east.
Nov 24, 2014 the syrian war is not only a proxy war. A proxy war is defined to be a war fought between groups or smaller countries that each represent the interests of other larger powers, and may have help and support from these. But while the idea of having a specific terminology would make little sense if their was no difference to regular war it is my intend to try and classify uniqueness of proxy. Civil war wrecked the country for 15 years until a powersharing agreement was reached in 1989. The proxy war problem in syria, both the bosnia and iraq analogies should point us toward a greater understanding of the proxy war problem in modern civil wars. Trump has become a major player in an exploding regional proxy war that could determine the middle easts post war dynamics. The proxy war in the middle east between saudi arabia and iran is another example of the destructive impact of proxy wars.
The paper will contextualize and frame the syrian wars main developments that, as of today. Weaponry is turning syria into proxy war with russia. Lebanon is a country divided, home as it is to shiite, sunni, christian and druze communities. Government troops advanced there monday, aided by russian air power. Jul 04, 20 while there is a strong element of a proxy war behind the bitter fighting in syria, the forces and interests involved are best understood in terms of interstate relations going back more than a decade. Provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the syrian crisis makes understanding syrias complex inner workings accessible to a broader readership examines the historical background that has laid the objective conditions for syrias descent to its current situation provides a holistic picture of. The taliban was fighting the soviet union, which had invaded afghanistan, so the united states funded and trained the taliban so that it could better fight against the soviets, our cold war enemies. Having declared georgia and ukraines nato membership as its red line, russia invaded georgia.
Pdf proxy wars and the contemporary security environment. From national independence to proxy war linda matar. Hof, senior fellow, rafik hariri center for the middle east, atlantic council of the united states and. Military success in syria gives putin upper hand in u. The situation has been even more complicated when the civil war turned a proxy warfare led by the most powerful countries.
The biggest concern is that one day syrians and everyone else will wake up to find that syria has been completely destroyed. External actors and interests as drivers of conflict. Causes, consequences, and recommendations for mitigation a paper commissioned by the center for the prevention of genocide, united states holocaust memorial museum by ambassador frederic c. This edited collection aims to analytically reconceptualise the syrian crisis by examining how and why the country has moved from a stable to a war torn society. Proxy war for the first time since afghanistan in the 1980s, the russian military for the past year has been in direct. While there is a strong element of a proxy war behind the bitter fighting in syria, the forces and interests involved are best.