Non-State Actors and Proxy Warfare Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: Interrogating the Wagner Group
Journal: IBADAN JOURNAL OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
Year: 2025

The deepening involvement of the Wagner Group-a Russian-linked private military company-in Sub-Saharan Africa has intensified global debates surrounding proxy warfare, resource geopolitics, and the evolving role of non-state actors in fragile states. This paper critically interrogates Wagner’s operations in conflict-affected countries such as Mali and the Central African Republic (CAR), illuminating how its activities have reconfigured local power structures, militarised governance, and exacerba