Del i serien Routledge Studies in Civil Wars and Intra-State Conflict

Explaining Foreign Support Escalation in Civil War

From Sponsorship to Intervention

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

2 999 kr

Kommande

This book investigates why some foreign powers that initially assist warring parties in civil wars later escalate to direct military involvement.The volume connects proxy war and direct intervention through a new theoretical framework, Support Escalation Theory, arguing that intervention (“direct support”) is risky and costlier than the transfer of resources (“indirect support”), and so is not chosen lightly. Using case studies, including Fascist Italy’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and Russia’s intervention in the Donbas in 2014, the book highlights why foreign sponsors prefer to escalate from indirect to direct support: they do so when the time window to affect the conflict and avoid a negative outcome is running out, and the warring party would not be able to use further indirect support that would no longer be helpful. Therefore, foreign sponsors feel the incentive to step in with their own forces. Additional examples test how widely the pattern holds in the 20th and 21st centuries, shedding light on one of the most important—and dangerous—features of modern conflict.This book will be of much interest to students of civil wars, conflict studies, security studies and International Relations.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-09-15
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieRoutledge Studies in Civil Wars and Intra-State Conflict
Antal sidor240
FörlagTaylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN9781041340423

Tillhör följande kategorier

Chapter 1: Introduction: From Backers to Belligerents Chapter 2: Conceptualization: Two Logics of External Support Chapter 3: The Argument: Unpacking Support Escalation Theory Chapter 4: Research Design: Tracing Support Escalation Theory Chapter 5: Black Shirts on the Meseta: Fascist Italy’s support to Franco in the Spanish Civil War Chapter 6: The First Invasion of Ukraine: Escalation of Russian Involvement in the Donbas War Chapter 7: Testing External Validity: Support Escalation Theory across Contexts Chapter 8: Conclusion: The Present and Future of Support Escalation

'Giuseppe Spatafora's meticulous study provides the best discussion to date on how escalation crosses the direct-indirect thresholds of war. Theoretically ambitious and empirically rigorous, Spatafora breaks new intellectual ground with a welcome contribution to conflict studies that will serve as a point of reference to scholars and practitioners for years to come.'Vladimir Rauta, Head of Department and Director of the Centre for Global Security and Governance, University of Reading, UK'Why do outside states that provide indirect support to civil war parties sometimes escalate by directly joining the conflict? Spatafora's book tackles this important but hitherto underexplored question by drawing on the literature on proxy wars and military interventions, as well as on careful case studies. This is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding an increasingly prevalent aspect of contemporary armed conflict.'Costantino Pischedda, Associate Professor of International Relations, University of Miami, USA