Heralding a new medievalism

The revolt led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch and head of the Wagner Group, has opened Pandora’s box, shedding light on the role of private military companies (PMCs). PMCs have emerged due to shifting global dynamics, creating significant security gaps and even acting as catalysts for military involvement. Notable PMCs include the Wagner Group,  US-based Academi (formerly known as Blackwater), DynCorp International, UK-based G4S, and South Africa-based Executive Outcomes.

PMCs like Blackwater gained controversial attention during the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These companies offer various security services to governments, including training, logistics, guarding, risk management, and engaging in combat operations. As an example, what the Nigerian government could not achieve in six years against Boko Haram, a PMC like M1-24 was able to achieve. However, debates persist about the extent of their reach, roles, influence, transparency, accountability, and oversight. PMCs trade in military services and even outsource combat operations.

This article will focus on the Wagner Group to address some of these concerns. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the shadowy founder and commander of the Wagner Group, recently acknowledged his direct involvement in its establishment, revealing its status as President Putin’s de facto private army. Wagner has been an indispensable part of President Putin’s operations in Ukraine and beyond.

Since 2014, the Wagner mercenary group has supported pro-separatist forces in eastern Ukraine and played a part in the Russian annexation of Crimea. Wagner’s involvement led to victories in the Donbas region. Initially, the Russians denied Wagner’s presence, but it became evident through ‘false-flag’ attacks used to legitimise missile strikes in Ukraine as retribution. Some analysts argue that these attacks were staged by the Russians to justify their actions, such as near the Chernihiv Oblast international border and Moldova. Wagner was also deployed to control cities like Bakhmut. PMCs tend to operate covertly and with lethal force.

The Wagner Group has been involved in various activities, including propping up political elites, quelling local uprisings, indulging in political propaganda, and seeking access to resources and minerals. Funding for the Wagner Group primarily comes from targeted groups in Africa and the Middle East that trade in precious metals like gold and diamonds, as well as the exploitation of virgin rainforests. The group has also manipulated conflicts in Africa for its own gain. Profitability often takes precedence over patriotism for PMCs. Concerns from Washington even led to the US Treasury Department imposing sanctions on the Wagner Group, although their impact has been limited. 

Russia has heavily relied on PMCs like Wagner Group in regions such as Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Moscow has attempted to create African dependence on Russian military assets while also tapping into Africa’s rich mineral assets. This is where Wagner comes in, focusing on complex local conflicts and terrorism-related operations. For example, between 2017 and 2019, Prigozhin gained exclusive gold mining rights in Sudan in exchange for deploying a large number of mercenaries to suppress local uprisings against the regime of Omar al-Bashir. Bashir even offered Russia a naval base in Port Sudan, on the Red Sea.

Even in the Central African Republic, Prigozhin-linked companies were given licences for gold and diamond mining. The Wagner Group has intervened in Africa to insulate regimes from coups and elections. The African Union has maintained a studied silence about Wagner’s role because many African regimes continue to benefit from its presence. Wagner had joined the civil war in Libya by propping up warlord Khalifa Hiftar’s Libyan Arab Armed Forces in 2019.

Some states see PMCs as an alternative way of countering terrorism and insurgency. Moscow has replenished the arms requirements of the Wagner Group from time to time. In January 2023, the US wanted to categorise Wagner as a transnational criminal organisation in light of its weapons purchases from North Korea. However, the West’s condemnation of it has been relatively muted given its historic role in Africa as colonisers, as well as PMC’s culture, leadership, and operational concepts being largely derivative of the US military.

The Wagner episode exposed Putin’s veil of invincibility and showed that it’s not just Russia’s internal matter but has implications worldwide. Security privatisation has increased in scope. PMCs have the propensity to turn their profit motive into a war strategy, thereby heralding a new medievalism. There seems to be a growing cultural acceptance across countries, and PMCs have come to stay and have grown inherently into the global security landscape.

(The writer is a Professor in the Dept. of International Studies, Political Science, and History at Christ (deemed to be )University, Bengaluru)