Cold War Proxy Wars's Historiography

The Cold War's proxy wars served as microcosms of the ideological and geopolitical struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. Historians have produced an often contentious body of scholarship. This historiography examines how interpretations of proxy wars have evolved, from the early focus on ideological rivalry to more nuanced post-revisionist and global perspectives, while considering cultural, regional, and covert dimensions of these wars.

The interpretations that dominated Cold War scholarship during the conflict's early years portrayed proxy wars as battles between democracy and communism. This perspective highlighted the United States’ role as a defender of freedom and attributed global instability to Soviet expansionism. George C. Herring’s “The Cold War and Vietnam” exemplifies this approach by framing the Vietnam War as a necessary intervention to halt the spread of communism. Herring emphasizes the domino theory, a concept central to U.S. foreign policy, which posited that the fall of one nation to communism would lead to a cascade of communist victories in the region. Geoffrey Roberts’s “Moscow and the Marshall Plan” explores the Soviet response to U.S. containment policies, arguing that Soviet ideological rigidity contributed to escalating tensions. While Roberts’s work is not solely about proxy wars, it provides context for understanding the Cold War's ideological battlegrounds. 

The 1970s and 1980s saw the rise of revisionist historians, who critiqued the original narrative by highlighting economic and imperialist motives behind U.S. foreign policy. These scholars argued that proxy wars often served American geopolitical and corporate interests rather than purely ideological goals. Thomas G. Paterson’s “The Origins of the Cold War” critiques U.S. foreign policy as aggressive and imperialistic, particularly in Southeast Asia. Paterson argues that American leaders prioritized economic hegemony over the well-being of local populations, contributing to the devastation of Vietnam. The Pritzker Military Museum’s “Origins of the Vietnam War” explores how U.S. economic interests in Southeast Asia, including access to raw materials and markets, shaped its involvement. This source underscores the human cost of such policies, challenging narratives that frame U.S. actions as altruistic. 

With the end of the Cold War and the declassification of key documents, post-revisionist scholarship emerged, offering a more balanced view. These works examined both superpower dynamics and the agency of smaller actors, situating proxy wars within the broader context of decolonization and global realignments. Rafael Reuveny and Aseem Prakash’s “The Afghanistan War and the Breakdown of the Soviet Union” connects the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to broader Cold War dynamics while exploring its role in hastening the USSR’s collapse. This work highlights the unintended consequences of proxy wars, emphasizing the intersection of local and global factors. Barnett R. Rubin’s “State Collapse after the Cold War” examines the aftermath of the Afghan conflict, focusing on the role of foreign aid and intervention in shaping the region’s instability. Rubin’s work reflects a growing interest in the long-term consequences of Cold War policies on Third World nations. 

The historiography of Cold War proxy wars reflects an evolving academic conversation, from Orthodox narratives of ideological rivalry to revisionist critiques and post-revisionist syntheses. By integrating superpower strategies, local agency, and cultural dimensions, historians continue to illuminate the complexities of these conflicts and their enduring impact on the modern world.