256 Wagner and the Past and Present of Private Military Companies (PMCs)
How should we understand Wagner's astonishing energy? As a supplement to the failure of Russia's military reforms, Wagner seems to have become the "Cossacks" of a new era. From the Crimean Peninsula to gold mines in Central Africa, Wagner has long been expanding its presence worldwide. Looking back at history, from the Varangian Guard to the Hessian mercenaries, the tradition of European mercenaries has a long and deep history. After the emergence of nation-states, mercenaries gradually declined, but they never completely disappeared. Blackwater provided the United States with a "hireable victory," and the footprints of mercenaries are actually not far from us either. This episode starts with the recent Wagner mutiny, featuring insightful sharing from Sha Qingqing and Liu Yi.
Original Chinese title & description
256 从瓦格纳谈私人军事服务商（PMC）今昔
如何理解瓦格纳的惊人能量？作为俄罗斯军改失败的补充品，瓦格纳似乎已经变成了新时代的“哥萨克”。从克里米亚半岛到中非金矿，瓦格纳早已在全世界布局。回望历史，从瓦兰格卫队到黑森佣兵，欧洲的雇佣兵传统源远流长。民族国家出现后，佣兵渐渐式微，但他们从未彻底消失。黑水公司为美国提供了一种“可以雇佣的胜利”，而佣兵的足迹其实离我们也并不遥远。本期节目从近期的瓦格纳兵变谈起，有请沙青青和刘怡给我们带来精彩分享。
Participation credit “本期话题成员”：沙青青（微信公众号：13号埋立地）。
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