The role of private military companies in conflict zones: Wagner Group in Mali

Private military companies provide security services to states, international organizations and multinational corporations. The end of the Cold War was a turning point in the history of PMCs. Reduction of defense budgets and demobilization of soldiers from shrinking armies caused PMCs to proliferate rapidly. Due to the economic, technical and political contributions they provide, private military companies mostly from the USA, the UK and Russia, operate in different parts of the world. Duties of these companies range from taking part in conflicts, military consultancy and training, protecting critical facilities and providing logistics services. Similar to the Western equivalents, Russian private military companies emerged after the end of the Cold War. Both the Wagner Group and the African Corps, stand out with military security, business and perception management operations. The Malian government, which has been facing chronic instability problems, invited Wagner forces in late 2021. The government, which could not fully establish its sovereignty within its own borders, decided to cooperate with Wagner in this context. Wagner conducted military, business and disinformation operations in Mali. In the thesis, Mali's relationship with Wagner was analyzed by using primary sources such as archival records, laws and regulations of relevant countries, as well as secondary sources such as books, articles, newspapers, reports and similar research studies published on the subject. Keywords: Mali, Russia, Wagner Group, African Corps, private military companies