Book cover of Proxy Warriors: The Rise and Fall of State-Sponsored Militias

Book description

In this book, Ariel Ahram offers a new perspective on a growing threat to international and human security-the reliance of 'weak states' on quasi-official militias, paramilitaries, and warlords.
Tracing the history of several "high profile" paramilitary organizations, including Indonesia's various militia factions, Iraq's tribal "awakening," and Iran's Revolutionary Guard and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Proxy Warriors as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Militias have become an increasingly popular tool at the hands of governments in countering insurgency in their peripheries, and hence, a recurring feature in conflicts. Because of the ad hoc nature of militia recruitment and their irregular form, students of conflict tended to overlook their impact on politics and society, assuming that once conflict subsided, these actors vanished.

Ahram’s work is one of the first to challenge this conception, demonstrating the profound impact that this ‘outsourcing’ of violence from governments to peripheral security providers can have on conflict and the state as a whole. In this respect, Ahram’s book has…

If you love Proxy Warriors...

Book cover of The Rosewood Penny

The Rosewood Penny by J.S. Fields,

2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!

The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.

On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…

Want books like Proxy Warriors?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Proxy Warriors.

Browse books like Proxy Warriors

Book cover of State of Repression: Iraq under Saddam Hussein
Book cover of Houses Built on Sand: Violence, Sectarianism and Revolution in the Middle East
Book cover of Warlords, Strongman Governors, and the State in Afghanistan

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,343

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Proxy Warriors, you might also like...

Book cover of Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman by Alexis Krasilovsky,

Kate from Jules et Jim meets I Love Dick.

A young woman filmmaker’s journey of self-discovery, set against a backdrop of the sexual liberation movement of the 1970s and 1980s. In Portrait of an Artist as a Young Woman, we follow Ana Fried as she faces the ultimate…

Book cover of Malcolm Before X

Malcolm Before X by Patrick Parr,

Malcolm Before X is about finding a way to continue moving forward after everything has been taken from you. While in prison, Malcolm Little discovered the power of reading and found a way to transform his character and become a better man. This half-biography focuses on that transformation, especially his…

5 book lists we think you will like!