Description
The growing footprint of Russian private military companies (PMCs) like the Wagner Group in resource-rich African states represents a strategic fusion of security provision and economic extraction. This research argues that Russian PMCs are not merely mercenary forces but central actors in a transnational governance model that trades security for resource concessions. This model systematically undermines human rights and democratic norms while entrenching the power of incumbent authoritarian regimes. The paper investigates this phenomenon by analysing how PMCs provide a "toolkit" of services including direct combat support, electoral manipulation, and disinformation campaigns—to secure political and economic favours for the Kremlin and its corporate allies.
This study employs a qualitative, comparative case study methodology to dissect the operations and impacts of Russian PMCs in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali. It draws on a multi-modal data collection approach, synthesizing: 1) Documentary analysis of United Nations panel of experts reports, U.S. Treasury Department sanctions designations, and African Union documentation; 2) Open-source intelligence (OSINT) including satellite imagery of mining sites and data from conflict observatories; and 3) Critical discourse analysis of local media reports and official government statements. By triangulating these sources, the research traces the direct linkages between PMC deployments, subsequent human rights abuses documented by organizations like Human Rights Watch, and the transfer of lucrative mining rights for resources like gold, diamonds, and uranium to Russian-linked entities.
The findings demonstrate that this security-resource nexus creates a vicious cycle: PMCs enable regime survival, which facilitates resource plunder, which in turn funds further PMC operations and human rights violations. The paper concludes that this model poses a fundamental challenge to human security, state sovereignty, and the stability of the international liberal order in Africa.
