High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A proxy war is a war that results when opposing powers use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly. While powers have sometimes used whole governments as proxies, terrorist groups, mercenaries, or other third parties are more often employed. It is hoped that these groups can strike an opponent without leading to full-scale war. Proxy wars have also been fought alongside full-scale conflicts. It is almost impossible to have a pure proxy war, as the groups fighting for a certain nation usually have their own interests, which are often divergent from those of their patron.