{"id":25550,"date":"2025-06-20T08:56:51","date_gmt":"2025-06-20T08:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peacerep.org\/?post_type=publication&p=25550"},"modified":"2025-06-20T09:03:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T09:03:24","slug":"russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author:<\/strong> Tanner Kimpel (World Peace Foundation, Tufts University)<\/p>\n

This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of Alex de Waal\u2019s political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states. It argues that the privatization of security in 1990s Russia created the conditions for the emergence of Wagner, similar to the political upheaval experienced by many African countries in the late 20th century. By examining the political and security environments of the African countries to which Wagner has deployed, this paper demonstrates how Wagner embeds itself in local and regional political marketplaces, adapting its role based on local contexts.<\/p>\n

The analysis compares Wagner\u2019s successful interventions with its failures, identifying the conditions that have shaped divergent outcomes. The paper explores Wagner\u2019s involvement in resource capture and commercial ventures, and its role in advancing Russian foreign policy. It highlights how Wagner\u2019s criminal behaviour reflects its ambiguous legal status\u2014existing at the behest of both the Russian state and the autocratic rulers who elicit its services. Drawing from academic and investigative sources, this study provides insight into how Wagner occupies a niche in Africa\u2019s markets in violence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":166,"featured_media":25551,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":""},"categories":[235],"tags":[658],"authors":[2108],"class_list":["post-25550","publication","type-publication","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publication","tag-publication","countries-central-african-republic","countries-libya","countries-mali","countries-sudan","authors-kimpel","themes-concepts"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRussia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence - PeaceRep<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence - PeaceRep\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PeaceRep\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-20T09:03:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@peace_rep_\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/\",\"name\":\"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence - PeaceRep\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-20T08:56:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-20T09:03:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1000,\"caption\":\"Photo by AMAURY FALT-BROWN\\\/AFP via Getty Images\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Publications\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/publication\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/\",\"name\":\"PeaceRep\",\"description\":\"Rethinking peace & transition processes in a changing conflict landscape\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PeaceRep\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peacerep.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/cropped-PeaceRep-Logo-2_sm-e1654170568701.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/peacerep.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/cropped-PeaceRep-Logo-2_sm-e1654170568701.png\",\"width\":508,\"height\":160,\"caption\":\"PeaceRep\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\\\/dev-peacerep\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/peace_rep_\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence - PeaceRep","description":"This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence - PeaceRep","og_description":"This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.","og_url":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/","og_site_name":"PeaceRep","article_modified_time":"2025-06-20T09:03:24+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@peace_rep_","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/","url":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/","name":"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence - PeaceRep","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg","datePublished":"2025-06-20T08:56:51+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-20T09:03:24+00:00","description":"This paper analyses the Wagner Group\u2019s operations in Africa through the lens of the political marketplace framework, drawing connections between Russia\u2019s domestic market for violence and those of Wagner\u2019s African client states.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/GettyImages-2166360873.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"caption":"Photo by AMAURY FALT-BROWN\/AFP via Getty Images"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/russia-in-africa-embedded-markets-in-violence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Publications","item":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/publication\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Russia in Africa: Embedded Markets in Violence"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/#website","url":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/","name":"PeaceRep","description":"Rethinking peace & transition processes in a changing conflict landscape","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/#organization","name":"PeaceRep","url":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/peacerep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-PeaceRep-Logo-2_sm-e1654170568701.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/peacerep.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/cropped-PeaceRep-Logo-2_sm-e1654170568701.png","width":508,"height":160,"caption":"PeaceRep"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/peace_rep_"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/25550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25551"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25550"},{"taxonomy":"authors","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gentest.cahss.ed.ac.uk\/dev-peacerep\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/authors?post=25550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}