The Growing Presence of Russia in Africa: Analyzing Russia-Ghana Relations during the Wagner Group Era

Russia’s re-engagement with Africa has received scholarly attention in recent years, though much of it has concentrated on the activities of its Wagner Group (WG) within authoritarian contexts. In Francophone West Africa, attention has focused on Russia’s militarized engagements, while comparatively little focus has been given to its activities within democratic, Anglophone contexts. This study addresses that oversight by exploring the nature of Russia’s foreign policy engagement with Ghana during the WG era (2017-2023) to offer a more nuanced understanding of its engagement across diverse political environments. It also investigates Ghana’s response to Russia’s increasing presence in West Africa within the framework of its foreign policy tradition of positive neutrality. Employing a qualitative single-case study design grounded in a neocolonialism framework, this research analyzes Russia-Ghana relations across five key thematic areas and applies discourse analysis to synthesize Ghana’s rhetoric in response to Russia’s regional presence. It concludes that Ghana’s pro-Western orientation constrained Russia’s ability to replicate its coercive Francophone playbook. Instead, Russia’s relied on soft power instruments. Crucially, Ghana maintained its non-aligned tradition of positive neutrality, consistently resisting Russian overtures in West Africa.