title: Violence as a Condition: From Russia to the CAR, the Global Impact of the Wagner Group
abstract: Since its inception in 2014, the Russian Federation’s Wagner Group has both expanded Russia’s foreign policy reach and become a significant contributor to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Yet, the relationship between the Private Military Contractor (PMC) and the Russian state was not always so strong. While Russia’s reliance on PMCs for foreign policy influence is a historical norm, Wagner’s recent exploits have led to their status as the preferred PMC for Russian interstate relationships. Wa