Cowboys of the Wild East: The Wagner Group and its Impacts on the Private Military Contractor Industry
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Authors
Sandfort, Noah
Issue Date
2025
Type
Article
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Since its emergence on the world stage, the Wagner Group2 has complicated the
operations of actors across the security, humanitarian, and human rights spaces
the world over, while leaving a trail of destruction wherever it has deployed.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the Wagner Group itself and the issues
that it has highlighted in both the fields of Western foreign policy and existing
approaches to governance over the growing private military contractor (PMC)
industry on the part of the wider international community, before offering a selection
of potential policy items for addressing the above outlined weaknesses. I
find that the Wagner Group’s unclear relationship with the Russian state, combined
with its poor human rights record, make it an object of significant concern
to those involved with security, humanitarian, and human rights issues alike.
Further, its prominence within the contemporary security landscape shows both
the lack of adequate enforcement options under current governance frameworks
within the PMC industry, and the failure of the United States and its allies to
proactively engage in the Sahel region. To address these shortcomings, I recommend
a combination of a stringent unified licensing apparatus, with particular
attention paid to corporate revenue streams and financial structures, stronger options
for accountability in cases of violation of legal norms on the part of PMCs
for the international community, and a recommitment to cooperation in security
partnerships on the part of the West to address demand-side issues arising from
dissatisfaction among partnering states with current approaches.
Description
Citation
Sandfort, Noah."Cowboys of the Wild East: The Wagner Group and its Impacts on the Private Military Contractor Industry." West Point Journal of Politics and Security, Volume 3 Issue 1; Spring 2025
Publisher
West Point Press