Foreign Policy Instrument, Actor, or Infrastructure? Conceptualizing the Wagner Group in Sudan

By drawing on literature on non-state foreign policy actors, we establish a first-cut understanding of the Wagner Group’s role in Russian foreign policy. We show how instrument, actor, and infrastructure denote variations in the functionality of the Wagner Group. We argue that the Wagner Group is characterized by its ability to adapt to new opportunities, and its liminality, enabling the group to take action unavailable to the Russian state. Our analysis illustrates the value of our conceptualization for understanding the group and other liminal non-state actors in African security by identifying the group’s impact on Sudanese and African security.