About Book

In this article, Pokalova examines the Wagner Group’s operations in Africa—particularly in Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, and Mali—and argues that Wagner functions not just as a private military company (PMC) but as a quasi‑state actor advancing Russia’s geopolitical interests. She demonstrates how Wagner provides a broad service portfolio: combat operations, security provision, political influence, and resource concession deals, thus enabling Russia to exert influence in fragile states while maintaining plausible deniability. The relevance of this analysis to the present era is high: in a world where hybrid warfare and proxy actors are central to great-power competition, Pokalova’s work offers a timely lens on how non-state actors like Wagner can effectively serve as instruments of state power, challenging traditional notions of sovereignty and raising critical questions about accountability, governance, and the security implications for African states and international order.This is a crucial and timely contribution to understanding modern proxy warfare and Russian hybrid strategy. Pokalova’s work is significant for both scholars and policymakers because it situates Wagner not just as a mercenary force, but as a deliberate tool of statecraft.