Non-State Actors and Proxy Warfare Dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa: Interrogating the Wagner Group

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 exacerbated pre-existing insecurities. Situated within the analytical lens of Constructivist theory, the study explores how Wagner’s presence reshapes security discourses, redefines threat perceptions, and constructs new political realities on the continent. The adoption of constructivism enables a critical understanding of the ideational and identity-based dynamics underpinning state–non-state interactions, thereby transcending purely materialist interpretations. Drawing on a case study approach, the paper reveals how Wagner exploits political vacuums and institutional fragilities, often entrenching regimes through coercive alliances and resource extraction. The findings underscore the strategic ambiguity of private military actors, whose hybrid engagements blur the boundaries of sovereignty and accountability. In response, the study calls for integrated international mechanisms that strengthen democratic institutions, reduce reliance on extralegal security arrangements, and impose rigorous accountability for human rights violations. Ultimately, it argues that confronting the Wagner phenomenon requires not only tactical interventions but a fundamental rethinking of international engagement with Africa’s evolving security landscape.