Overview

Surrogate Warfare explores the emerging phenomenon of “surrogate warfare” in twenty-first century conflict. The popular notion of war is that it is fought en masse by the people of one side versus the other. But the reality today is that both state and non-state actors are increasingly looking to shift the burdens of war to surrogates. Surrogate warfare describes a patron's outsourcing of the strategic, operational, or tactical burdens of warfare, in whole or in part, to human and/or technological substitutes in order to minimize the costs of war. This phenomenon ranges from arming rebel groups, to the use of armed drones, to cyber propaganda. Krieg and Rickli bring old, related practices such as war by mercenary or proxy under this new overarching concept. Apart from analyzing the underlying sociopolitical drivers that trigger patrons to substitute or supplement military action, this book looks at the intrinsic trade-offs between substitutions and control that shapes the relationship between patron and surrogate. Surrogate Warfare will be essential reading for anyone studying contemporary conflict.

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9781626166783

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Reviews

In Surrogate Warfare, Andreas Krieg and Jean-Marc Rickli offer a welcome discussion of the phenomenon of nation states farming out military and security responsibilities to 'surrogates.' * Michigan War Studies Review *

At a time when increasing levels of security force assistance and partner capacity building are defining Western engagement with states around the globe, this book is an important reminder of the opportunities and threats posed by outsourcing war to others. * Political Science Quarterly * Surrogate Warfare offers fresh perspectives about contemporary warfare with analysis ontechnology, ethics, and the current geostrategic environment. * Terrorism and Political Violence * This work is ... a stimulating essay, offering a real debate on what war is today, especially around the ethical and legal issues linked to technological revolutions, in progress and to come. In Surrogate Warfare, Andreas Krieg and Jean-Marc Rickli offer a welcome discussion of the phenomenon of nation states farming out military and security responsibilities to 'surrogates.' * Michigan War Studies Review *

Clausewitz wrote that war is coercive in nature though throughout history coercion has taken many forms. This principle is more real today than ever thanks to the ability of states to contract out operations to partners or surrogates both animate and inanimate. Though not a new departure this development has taken on a new reality in a globalised and technologically vulnerable world. With remarkable erudition and insight this study represents a bold and original contribution to the field of security studies. -- Christopher Coker, Professor of International Relations, Director of LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics This important book captures and conceptualises a phenomenon that has been increasingly pronounced in contemporary warfare. States increasingly look to others - surrogates - to carry the risks of warfare rather than put their own forces in harm's way. These can be private companies, rebel militias, other governments, or autonomous vehicles. But can they do this and keep control of the conduct of a conflict and ensure that other agendas don't take priority over their interests? -- Lawrence Freedman, Emeritus Professor of War Studies, King's College London

Author Information

Andreas Krieg is an assistant professor at the School of Security Studies at King's College, London and co-founder of both the Near East Centre for Security and Strategy and the Private Military and Security Research Group at King's College. Jean-Marc Rickli is head of global risk and resilience at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and a research fellow at King's College, London.

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