What Are Russian Military Contractors Doing In Africa?

Anna Borshchevskaya, Foreign Policy Research Institute: The Role Of Russian Military Contractors In Africa

It is no secret that Moscow is increasingly utilizing so-called “private military contractors” (PMCs) to pursue foreign policy objectives across the globe, especially in the Middle East and Africa. What has received less attention is that Moscow’s deployment of PMCs follows a pattern: The Kremlin is exploiting a loophole in international law by securing agreements that allow contractors to provide local assistance. The problem is, however, Russian PMCs are not simply contractors.

This pattern of Russian behavior presents a new challenge that Western policymakers should address, as it speaks to broader Russian influence in Africa in the context of great power competition. This challenge is about Moscow’s erosion of broader behavioral norms.

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WNU Editor: What the Kremlin is doing is nothing new. The Russians learned from the Americans and their use of military contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.