Legal Definitions - mixed war

A mixed war refers to a type of armed conflict that involves a combination of both public (state-sponsored) and private (non-state) elements. It is not a purely conventional war between sovereign states, nor is it solely a private dispute or rebellion. Instead, it features private individuals or groups participating in hostilities with some level of authorization, support, or acquiescence from a state, thereby blurring the traditional distinctions between state-led warfare and private violence.

Here are some examples to illustrate this concept:

• Historical Privateering: During the 17th and 18th centuries, governments would issue "letters of marque and reprisal" to private ship owners, authorizing them to attack and capture enemy merchant vessels. While these privateers were not part of the official navy, they operated with state sanction and contributed to the war effort against an enemy nation. The conflict was a mixed war because it involved private individuals and their ships engaging in hostilities under public authority, rather than solely through state naval forces.

• State-Sponsored Non-State Actors: Imagine a scenario where a powerful nation provides extensive financial aid, military training, and intelligence support to a rebel group operating in a neighboring country. The rebel group, though not an official part of the powerful nation's military, acts as a proxy force, advancing the powerful nation's strategic interests without a direct declaration of war or overt military intervention. This situation constitutes a mixed war because a sovereign state is indirectly engaging in conflict through a private, non-state entity, blending public objectives with private action.

• Private Military Companies in Civil Conflicts: Consider a civil war within a nation where one of the warring factions hires a foreign private military company (PMC) to provide combat support, logistics, and training. If a foreign government, without officially entering the conflict, tacitly approves or even facilitates the PMC's involvement due to its own strategic interests in the region, the conflict takes on characteristics of a mixed war. The PMC is a private entity, but its actions are intertwined with the public interests of both the faction that hired it and potentially the foreign government that supports its presence, creating a blend of private enterprise and public conflict.