Although Russian PMCs form a diverse group of actors, they provide the Russian leadership with a useful instrument for acting as a force multiplier for the Russian armed forces, for pursuing hybrid operations under the guise of plausible deniability, and for making inroads into regions from which Russia has been absent for a long time. – writes Margarete Klein, the head of the “Eastern Europe and Eurasia” research division at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) in Berlin, Germany.

Hybrid CoE Strategic Analysis 17: Private military companies – a growing instrument in Russia’s foreign and security policy toolbox
by Margarete Klein
Recent publications

Identity & cognitive vulnerabilities
Social identities and democratic vulnerabilities: Learning from examples of targeted disinformation

Maritime
Protecting maritime infrastructure from hybrid threats: legal options

Non-state actors
Countering state-sponsored proxies: Designing a robust policy

China