Private Military Contractors: Understanding the Non-State Actors Changing the Institution of War

About this episode

Dr. Caroline Batka discusses the impact of Private Military Contractors on modern warfare.

Dr. Caroline Batka analyzes PMCs in Private Military Contractors: Understanding the Non-State Actors Changing the Institution of War. This lecture draws on Dr. Caroline Batka’s compendium of research on Private Military Contractors (PMCs) and examines how they are reshaping the modern institution of war. The presentation explores key similarities and differences in how the U.S. military and the European Union employ and integrate PMCs, clarifies PMC terminology and classifications, and assesses their relationship to mercenaries, warlords, and other non-state actors. The lecture also examines the Wagner Group as a distinct and influential non-state organization. Dr. Caroline Batka is a senior military analyst at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia. She is currently working on a study funded by the Slovak Research and Development Agency examining hybrid warfare in Europe. This includes studies on the societal factors facilitating receptivity to pro-Russian disinformation in Slovakia; the organizational structure of the Wagner Group; the EU’s use of private military and security contractors; and Slovak-Polish defense industrial base collaboration. Dr. Batka is also an…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Caroline Batka

Topics covered

• Private Military Contractors
• Non-State Actors
• Institution of War
• Wagner Group
• Hybrid Warfare
• Military Analysis

Keywords

• Private Military Contractors
• Wagner Group
• non-state actors
• military analysis
• hybrid warfare
• U.S. military
• European Union

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Comenius University, Bay Atlantic University, King’s College London, Wagner Group

Places: Slovakia, European Union, Slovak-Polish

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