Proxy War
A conflict where outside powers fuel or exploit local combatants, keeping the battlefield — and the destruction — over there.
How We Say It
prok·see wor
Where It Comes From
Proxy from medieval Latin procuracy — the authority to act for another. Proxy war as a strategic concept was formalized during the Cold War when nuclear deterrence made direct US-Soviet conflict too dangerous and both powers fought instead through allies, clients, and insurgent movements.
How It's Been Used
Vietnam, Korea, Angola, Nicaragua, Afghanistan (1979-89), Yemen, Ukraine — each involves outside powers supplying weapons, money, intelligence, and advisors to local forces fighting their adversaries. The populations of proxy states bear the casualties. Proxy war has the advantage (for the external powers) of advancing strategic objectives without the political cost of body bags coming home. It has the disadvantage that proxy forces pursue their own interests, not just their sponsors'.