ADAPTING TO CONFLICT: IRAN’S PROXY WARFARE STRATEGY IN SYRIA AND YEMEN (2011–2020)

This research investigates how Iran employs proxy warfare in Syria and Yemen. Andrew Mumford’s quadrilateral framework is employed to analyze Iran’s use of proxy warfare in these cases, the focusing the provision of manpower, the provision military supplies, financial assistance, and non-military assistance. The study employed a method of multiple case analysis, enabling an examination of both the situations within and between cases. The objective of employing this approach was to identify the similarities, differences and underlying causes of these cases. The selection of these two cases for analysis was based on their distinctive environmental and socio-political factors, allowing for an evaluation of Iran’s proxy war strategy in the region. The time span of the study covers the decade following the beginning of the Arab Spring and ends with the assassination of Qassem Soleimani. This study demonstrates that Iran utilises a flexible proxy war strategy, modifying its approach in accordance with evolving war dynamics and conflict points.