Wagner Group and Opportunism in Russian Foreign Policy: Case Studies of the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, and Mozambique

Abstract

CHARLES UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Institute of Political Studies Department of Geopolitical Studies Master's Thesis Wagner Group and Opportunism in Russian Foreign Policy: Case Studies of the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, and Mozambique Abstract This research paper concerns Russian foreign policy and the tools it uses to accomplish its objectives. More specifically, the research is focused on the secretive private military company (PMC) Wagner Group. Wagner Group has been deployed around the globe to further the interests of Russia and is a key tool in Russia's opportunistic foreign policy. This paper seeks to answer the research question: At what point does the risk for Russia become too high to maintain the deployment of Wagner Group in a foreign country? Answering this research question will help academics and policymakers further understand the use of Wagner Group by the Russian government. Wagner Group is meant to be low risk to Russia. Previous research is sparse and often covers many deployments of Wagner Group. In contrast, this paper focuses on three case studies that allow for a more in- depth approach - Wagner Group in the Central African Republic (CAR), Libya, and Mozambique. Using qualitative analysis this paper discerned that in its use of Wagner Group, Russia will...