Challenges in Labeling Wagner Group as a Terrorist Entity

Challenges in Labeling Wagner Group as a Terrorist Entity

The United States has designated the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organization, a move that better reflects its nature as a quasi-state agent of influence for the Kremlin. The Wagner Group, conceived as a secretive organization, has been operating outside the public purview until 2022.

The group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been used by its head as a means to gain political influence. Its core was formed by former military and GRU (Russia's military intelligence) officers who joined for better salaries. In places like Mali or Central African Republic, governments invited Wagner in the wake of French disengagement, capitalising on a wave of anti-French and anticolonial sentiments.

The Wagner Group's lack of a coherent political agenda independent from the Russian state, secretive nature of its violence, and recruitment based on monetary contracts are reasons why it is not designated as a terrorist organization. However, the UK government is being called to designate the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization following actions by Lithuanian and French parliaments.

Elena Pokalova, a professor at the National Defense University's College of International Security Affairs, has authored a comprehensive study on the Wagner Group in Africa, published in July 2023 in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. She highlights that the group's operations range from security assistance to military action, tailored to various objectives set by the Kremlin.

Starting in 2022, Wagner's vacancy announcements promised to pay around $2,507 per month. Recruits for Ukraine in 2014-2015 received around $836 per month, while contractors who went to Syria got around $1,567 per month. The newest wave of Wagner recruits comes from prisons, with official pardon and money being the motivating factors for prisoners to join.

It's important to note that the views expressed in this article do not reflect the official position of the United States Military Academy, Department of the Army, or Department of Defense. Designating Wagner as a terrorist organization could complicate ways we deal with partners, especially in Africa, due to technical and symbolic reasons.

Counterterrorist legislation has been used by some countries to delegitimize certain groups, such as Turkey jailing oppositional journalists, China persecuting its Uyghur population, and Russia labeling critics of its war in Ukraine as terrorists. Intelligence and information operations can be conducted to undermine the group's effectiveness and influence without designating it a terrorist organization.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the destruction of all manifestations of terrorism and the conviction of terrorists. The US Treasury Department has successfully sanctioned Yevgeny Prigozhin and many of his Wagner partners.

In contrast to traditional terrorist organizations, the Wagner Group primarily differs in its structure, affiliation, and operational motives. It is a private military company serving state interests using military force, rather than a decentralized ideological terrorist group employing asymmetric warfare to pursue non-state political or religious aims.

[1] Information agency BelTA, via Wikimedia Commons. [2] Pokalova, E. (2023). The Wagner Group in Africa: Russia's Quasi-State Agent of Influence. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. [3] Berdal, M., & Sambanis, N. (2006). The state of the art of private military firms. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 17(2), 145-168. [4] Kemp, R. (2017). The Wagner Group: Russia's new private army. Chatham House.

1. The Wagner Group, initially shrouded in secrecy, is a private military company led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, primarily serving as a means for political influence.
2. Composed of former military and GRU (Russia's military intelligence) officers, the group's operations span from security assistance to military action, aligning with objectives set by the Kremlin.
3. Despite its transnational activities and associations with war and conflicts, the Wagner Group has not been designated as a terrorist organization due to its lack of a coherent political agenda and its reliance on monetary contracts.
4. Members of the Wagner Group are often enticed by competitive salaries, including around $2,507 per month, a significant increase from earlier salaries offered for services in Ukraine and Syria.
5. National security experts, such as Elena Pokalova, argue that the group poses a threat to national security and general news, with its influence extending across policy-and-legislation, politics, education-and-self-development, and crime-and-justice.
6. Designating the Wagner Group as a terrorist organization could complicate diplomatic relations, especially in Africa, due to potential repercussions on personal-growth, war-and-conflicts, and learning opportunities.
7. Intelligence and information operations can be used to counteract the Wagner Group's influence and effectiveness without formally designating it as a terrorist organization, as demonstrated by recent sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department on Yevgeny Prigozhin and his associates.

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