Understanding the New Proxy Wars : Battlegrounds and Strategies Reshaping the Greater Middle East

Proxy warfare will shape the conflicts of the twenty-first century for the foreseeable future. Yet the popular understanding of proxy wars remains largely shaped by the experience of the Cold War. In reality, in the Greater Middle East and its periphery today, the growing power of regional states and non-state actors, combined with the proliferation of new technology, has reshaped proxy conflicts, in an increasingly multipolar and interconnected environment.
In this collected volume, a range of researchers examine what constitutes proxy warfare and provide new insight into how these wars are waged, in contexts stretching from Ukraine to North Africa and Syria to Afghanistan. The volume draws upon research, surveys and interviews conducted in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine, as well as examining the propaganda output of those involved in these countries' wars. In doing so, Understanding the New Proxy Wars helps reveal both the continuities and the differences between recent conflicts and those of times past.

Peter Bergen is Professor of Practice at Arizona State University's School of Politics and Global Studies. He is also Vice President at the thinktank New America.
Candace Rondeaux is Professor of Practice at Arizona State University's School of Politics and Global Studies. She is also the Director of Future Frontlines at the thinktank New America. Daniel Rothenberg is Professor of Practice at Arizona State University's School of Politics and Global Studies. He is a senior fellow at the thinktank New America.
David Sterman is a senior policy analyst at the thinktank New America.