Rendboe, Niklas M.
2019
Connecting the dots of PMC Wagner
Dissertation: University of Southern Denmark
https://mitsdu.dk/-/media/mitsdu/filer/mit_studie/kandidat/int_sec_law/speciale/dissertations/rendboe+connecting+the+dots+of+pmc+wagner+2019.pdf
Russia has commenced a practice of using military companies to implement its foreign policy. This model is in part a continuation of a Russian tradition of using non-state actors, and partly a result of the contemporary thinking in Russia about war and politics as well as a consequence of the thorough reform process of the Russian military which began in 2008 under Anatolii Serdiukov. By using the subcontracting firms of business leader Evgenii Prigozhin as a channel for funding Wagner, the Kremlin has gained an armed structure which is relatively independent of its official military structures. The group was formed as part of a project to mobilise volunteers to fight in Ukraine in 2014- 15. The following year, Wagner went to Syria and made a valuable contribution to the Assad government’s effort to re-establish dominance in the Syrian theatre. Since then, evidence has surfaced pointing to 11 additional countries of operations. Of these, Libya, Sudan, Central Africa and Madagascar are relatively well supported. In all these countries, Wagner’s ability to operate are dependent on Russia for logistics, contracts and equipment. Wagner is first and foremost a tool of Russian realpolitik; they will not win wars nor help bring about a new world order, but they further strategic interests in two key ways; they deploy to war where Russia has urgent interests, and they operate in countries where the interests of Russia are more diffuse and long-term to enhance Russian influence. From the perspective of international law, several of Wagner’s operations warrant the judgment that they are a de facto organ of the Russian state, but in other operations they act more independently. Their activities must therefore be considered on an ad hoc basis. Militarily, the group can be conceived of as a commercialised volunteer corps. The use of Wagner reaps several small rewards in terms of difficulty of attribution, economic profit, limitation of expenses, and diplomatic influence.
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