Lehren aus der irregulären Kriegsführung aus dem Kalten Krieg: Schatten irregulärer Kriegsführung im modernen Wettbewerb

*Submission Statement:* Strategy Central provides a history of cold war conflicts and how lessons learned from past irregular warfare tactics remain relevant today. The Soviet Union employed a strategy that focused on subversion, supporting revolutionary movements, plausible deniability and utilizing proxy forces as a means to spread Communism and undermine Western interests. While this approach succeeded in areas of Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, it also had significant failures, particularly in Afghanistan and Zimbabwe. The Soviet Union’s success in Vietnam and Angola demonstrated the effectiveness of sustained, covert support for local insurgencies. However, the limitations of their irregular warfare were evident when they faced well-supported opposition, as in Afghanistan, where Soviet forces struggled against U.S. backed local resistance. The lessons from the Cold War, particularly regarding legitimacy, proxy use, and long-term commitment, remain relevant for modern Russia and the United States, as both powers continue to engage in hybrid warfare today.