Raphael Parens

Fellow @FPRI. Studying African security, non-state armed groups, and paramilitaries.

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

Available wherever you get your books @MoreSecurityInt @ColinPClarke @ColumbiaUP

CUP20SM at checkout for 20% off

#WagnerGroup #MoscowsMercenaries

[Raphael Parens @MoreSecurityInt]

@ColumbiaUP @ColinPClarke Also written by @C_Faulkner_UCF and I

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

My latest with @MoreSecurityInt via @ForeignPolicy:

Mali Plays Russian Roulette - Recent violence exposes the flaws in the Kremlin’s mercenary security model. https://t.co/ze9cxuTJmf

[Colin P. Clarke, Ph.D. @ColinPClarke]

Very excited to announce that "Moscow's Mercenaries: The Rise and Fall of the Wagner Group," published by @ColumbiaUP and co-authored with @C_Faulkner_UCF & @MoreSecurityInt, is now available for pre-order https://t.co/kn2Dz2SiE0

[Colin P. Clarke, Ph.D. @ColinPClarke]

"Shaping the Security Landscape: How Russia and China Approach the Issue of Security in Africa," my first piece with Delphi Global, co-authored with @C_Faulkner_UCF & @MoreSecurityInt https://t.co/raGb0PnySS

[Raphael Parens @MoreSecurityInt]

Excited to announce that my first book is available for pre-order now! Moscow's Mercenaries, which @C_Faulkner_UCF, @ColinPClarke, and I have been putting together for the past three years, will be hitting the presses in two short months: https://t.co/UBdtYU4Q0W

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

Moscow's Mercenaries is now available for preorder! In this book, @MoreSecurityInt, @ColinPClarke, and I walk through the rise and fall of the Wagner Group and what Russia's use of private military actors means for the future of war.

Use CUP20 for 20% off https://t.co/Ei8YTMrO37

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

I have a new piece with @MoreSecurityInt via @WarInstitute on how the war in Ukraine will reshape the global market for force. We suggest that the conflict is producing a generation of military technologists whose skills, we argue, will easily travel: https://t.co/YQprCDHykP
1/3

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

New piece w @MoreSecurityInt: The Africa Blind Spot via @FPRI

Written in the wake of the 2025 NSS, we examine how Africa receives limited attention as part of a deliberate narrowing of US priorities & why this may underestimate long term strategic risk

https://t.co/1ZwFlt3x4E

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

And now the book has a page on the Columbia University Press website (@MoreSecurityInt @ColinPClarke)...coming June 2026:

https://t.co/Ei8YTMslSF

And very cool to also see blurbs from @warnjason and @MarkGaleotti

[Colin P. Clarke, Ph.D. @ColinPClarke]

Looks like we have a cover! @C_Faulkner_UCF @MoreSecurityInt Coming in Spring 2026 published by Columbia University Press

[Christopher Faulkner @C_Faulkner_UCF]

@MoreSecurityInt and I have a new piece out with Delphi Global (Cc: @bobham88 @MaiaVanRijn) on Russia's limitations in security force assistance (SFA) in the Sahel & beyond. While Moscow isn't solely to blame, at best it has contributed to if not accelerated current crises. 1/3

[Delina Goxho @delinagoxho]

Our latest on the #JNIM blockade in #Mali for @FPRI & more general analysis on the insecurity situation in the Central #Sahel

@MoreSecurityInt

https://t.co/wKMFpbec8i

[Raphael Parens @MoreSecurityInt]

@Taitster25 Thank you, Andrew!

[Raphael Parens @MoreSecurityInt]

@ColinPClarke Thanks bro!

[Modern War Institute @WarInstitute]

Drones Aren’t the Solution to Africa’s Security Crises | @MoreSecurityInt @plichta_marcel @C_Faulkner_UCF https://t.co/2xujOqAnnE

[Liam Karr @liam_karr]

One week into Africa Corps in Mali and they’ve already suffered two of the biggest setbacks Russian forces have faced in 2025.

And now there’s no more glossing over it or scapegoating Wagner. This is what the Russian state offers as a partner.

Embarrassing for the Kremlin.

[Iván @FpAnalisis]

If confirmed, this would represent a major step back for Africa Corps and Russia in Mali. The Su-24 is not a gamechanger in terms of the operational capabilities truly needed in the region, but it does serve as a symbol of Russian military power.

[Marcel Plichta @plichta_marcel]

New article authored with @C_Faulkner_UCF and @MoreSecurityInt for MWI deals with the risks and challenges of getting involved in the DRC's security.

"On paper, a deal with the DRC may look desirable...in reality, this deal looks more like a trap."

[Raphael Parens @MoreSecurityInt]

What could go wrong? 🙃 https://t.co/LMhW6wzxmu