Explaining the Wagner Group’s influence in Africa
On 24 August 2023, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will have lasted for 18 months. While waging this brutal war in Ukraine, Russia is also increasingly engaged on the African continent in ways that demand a careful response.
Russia’s presence in Africa largely unfolds through the infamous Wagner Group. Ostensibly a ‘private’ military company, it has such close ties to the Russian state that it is more suitably described as a ‘semi-state’ actor. While the group’s missions in Africa seem to have proceeded unchanged since its recent attempted mutiny in Russia, the announced death of its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has thrown the future of the group into question. However, it remains relevant to understand how the Wagner Group expanded its presence on the African continent. Indeed, the model it represents, whereby states seek influence via ‘semi-state’ actors, will remain important. And, crucially, for liberal intervention actors, whose presence the Wagner Group challenged in several African states, it also remains important to continue rethinking their approaches to intervention, regardless of what the future of the Wagner Group’s Africa engagements will look like.
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