Africa Corps: Has Russia Hit a Ceiling in Africa?

By Christopher Faulkner, Marcel Plichta, Raphael Parens (Parens is a Fletcher Alum and a Fellow in the Eurasia Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute)

Abstract: The picture of Moscow’s replacement for the Wagner Group—known as Africa Corps—has become clearer over the past several months. For all the hype that Russia’s newest security assistance appendage has garnered, the early story is that it is more of the same, but with less fanfare. Though Africa Corps has strengthened the lines of control that existed between Moscow and their soldiers of fortune, this new security outfit’s mission and operations have been much smaller in scale so far, but still enough to pull former U.S. partners into Moscow’s orbit. Sahelian states will continue to suffer with Russia as its chief security partner. Meanwhile, U.S. policymakers should rethink their approach to the continent as the Sahel’s insecurity creeps toward a new set of West African nations.

Read the full article here.

(This post is republished from the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point.)