WAR

When it comes to the world of Private Military Companies (PMC) or Private Military and Security Companies (PMSC), public perception has been conditioned to think of the Russian Wagner Group, formerly led by the maverick Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. Western commentators like Jack Margolin point out that: "During Wagner’s assault on Bakhmut, Prigozhin declared the need for the Russian military to learn from what made Wagner effective. A year after his death, Russian military leadership have in many ways accomplished exactly that, taming the diffuse and agile elements of the Wagner Group to deploy them to lethal effect".

However, it may surprise some to know that the predominant trend by governments to benefit from PMCs is actually spearheaded by four countries, making up 70% of the PMC market globally. These countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and South Africa, and they host the majority of PMCs operating in almost every country in the world for a diverse range of clients, assuming responsibilities for critical state and security functions.

Some argue that Russia, while having a relatively small PMSC sector, has potentially used its contractors for combat more than other countries. There is evidence that this is a cleaner use of PMCs than the US/UK’s clandestine, covert use of the PMC skill set for a multitude of hybrid war strategies that offer plausible deniability and distance from the potential for war crimes and international law transgressions committed by these shadowy groups who assume the role of paid scapegoat when exposed.