ABSTRACT
There has been a sharp increase in the number and prevalence of internationalized civil war, civil wars where one or more sides receives direct military assistance There are several reasons why and the trend overall looks likely to continue since it is rooted not just in geopolitical transformation but in technological change too. Internationalization poses a significant challenge to an international order not well equipped to manage it. This chapter examines the phenomena of internationalized civil wars in three parts. First, it examines trends in the internationalization of war and categorizes different forms of external engagement, demonstrating that internationalization is an epiphenomenon comprised of several elements. Second, it examines different explanations for the emergence internationalized civil wars and argues that whilst the underlying cause can be found in war’s escalatory logics, proximate causes lay in the increase of civil war, changing technologies and heightened geopolitical competition. Third, the chapter examines how international society might respond to the challenge, which of these trends are likely to be sustained into the future, and their impact on the future of war.
