Moscow’s Mercenaries

The Wagner mercenary company may be all but defunct, but as this important and interesting study shows, the model of outsourced authoritarian violence and influence has proven itself, and we can expect not simply Russia but other countries to be looking to adapt it to their own ends. -- Mark Galeotti, coauthor of Downfall: Putin, Prigozhin and the New Fight for the Future of Russia
In a liminal world order where pseudo-powerful states increasingly seek global influence on a shoestring budget, what does the Wagner Group's dynamic rise and precipitous fall reveal about the nature of state-sanctioned violence in the twenty-first century? Authored by some of the world's foremost observers, this timely book reveals how Moscow's premier mercenary force, analyzed through its principal-agent problems and coup-proofing function, became an uncontrollable political and criminal blueprint for others. Moscow's Mercenaries is a chilling and imperative account of how irregular warfare serves as a primary and expanding instrument of authoritarian power. -- Jason Warner, coauthor of The Islamic State in Africa: The Emergence, Evolution, and Future of the Next Jihadist Battlefront
Moscow’s Mercenaries provides an in-depth analysis of the rise and transformation of the Wagner Group—the world's most influential mercenary group—and its complex relationship with Vladimir Putin's Kremlin. Tracking the Wagner Group from its prominent roles in the Russia-Ukraine and Syrian Wars, to its influential position in the politics of multiple Africa countries, Moscow's Mercenaries provides important insight into Russian foreign and defense policy. -- Chris Miller, author of Chip War: The Fight for the World's Most Critical Technology