Private armies

The recent attempted march on Moscow as an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between force and politics

«At the age of 19, on my own initiative and with private expense, I put together an army, with which I returned the Republic [of Rome] oppressed by the domination of one faction to freedom. For this reason [...], the Senate included me in its order by honorific decree, giving me both the consular rank and the military imperium. The Republic ordered me to ensure [...] that no one could cause harm. In the same year the Roman people elected me consul and triumvir to reorganize the Republic [...]".

«I sent into exile those who murdered my father, punishing their crime with legal proceedings; and, when they then waged war on the republic, I defeated them twice in battle."

Thus begins the Res Gestae, in which Octavian Augustus recounts the beginnings of his pursuit of power. After Caesar's death in 44 BC. and the subsequent adoption, Octavian received three-quarters of Caesar's inheritance which he used to set up a personal army, to be used in the new phase of civil wars. Officially to defend the republic from usurpers and traitors, in reality to conquer power and overturn (in substance but not in form) the Roman res publica.

Cases of private armies are not at all rare in the past, on the contrary... one of the characteristic features of modernity in the West is precisely the transition from the "private" militias of the various medieval dukes, marquises and counts to unitary armies under the exclusive control of European monarchs. Between the 19th and 20th centuries, armies took on specific national characteristics, relying more and more on compulsory military service. That is, they were the "armed forces of the State", theoretically faithful to the established power and above any particular interest and purpose.

So when, in more recent history, we witness the development of private or partisan militias, we cannot rest assured. Let's just think, to remain linked to our homeland's history, of the fascist gangs who, with their violence, violated the state's monopoly of force, making the authoritarian vision prevail over the liberal state. Or, to the very recent case of the Wagner group which, on the night between 23 and 24 June last, staged a pseudo march on Moscow (there would be much to write about the topic of marches too) which was aborted a few hours after the start 200 km from the capital. To date, the reasons and developments remain unclear: a coup against Putin? The attempt to put pressure on the Ministry of Defense? What was the role of Belarus? The head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigožin, welcomed as a hero in Rostov, first disappears, then reappears first in Belarus and then in St. Petersburg. We will have a better understanding of what actually happened.

Certainly paramilitary formations such as the Wagner group (the reference to the German composer reveals certain far-right sympathies of its members) represent a factor of enormous internal and international instability. It is worth remembering how this mercenary company has grown exponentially in recent years fighting in Syria, the Central African Republic (it even has duties as the president's personal guard), Sudan, Libya, Madagascar, Venezuela, Mozambique, Mali (to name just a few). All scenarios in which the militiamen have made themselves known for their cruelty, fomenting clashes and supporting coups as recently happened in Niger. The recent Russian invasion of Ukraine saw an absolute and negative protagonism of Wagner, both in numerical terms (also for the recruitment of criminals and common prisoners), and for her ability to present herself in the media. Protagonism that led to clashes with the military and political leaders, fearful of the group's excessive autonomy. For now, Putin seems to have won, but the failed march reveals a worrying political situation that risks slipping further and further into a spiral of violence.

Renato Bonomo

NP Agosto Settembre 2023