All About Legionnaires
The Lawfare Podcast
The Lawfare Institute
4.7 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 27 June 2022
⏱️ 41 minutes
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Summary
An interesting subplot of the Russian invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine has been the rush of fighters from other countries to join the Ukrainian foreign legion and to fight as legionnaires on behalf of the Ukrainian government. The phenomenon of legionnaires is an interesting one that crops up all throughout history yet has remained relatively understudied. What role do legionnaires play in conflicts? How does their impact differ from that of typical soldiers? How can we distinguish them from contractors or mercenaries or other categories of fighters? And what can legionnaires tell us about the ways that states like to conduct international affairs and international conflict?
To talk through these issues, Jacob Schulz spoke with Elizabeth Grasmeder, a researcher and author of an international security article entitled “Leaning on Legionnaires: Why Modern States Recruit Foreign Soldiers.” They talked about the historical practice of use of legionnaires and what it can reveal about conflicts today.
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Transcript
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| 1:08.0 | So when you have small militaries, post-independence |
| 1:12.0 | Africa is a great example of one. |
| 1:14.0 | Or post-independence India needing to boost its fountain |
| 1:18.0 | and work for capabilities. |
| 1:22.0 | Legionnaires kind of provide this accelerant by acting as |
| 1:26.0 | seasoned personnel who know how to do a difficult job |
| 1:30.0 | who can be both soldier and trainer to citizen personnel. |
| 1:34.0 | So in that respect, they have significant advantages over the foreign fighter phenomena. |
| 1:38.0 | That's certainly a product of who they are, the kinds of individuals who volunteer for military service. |
| 1:44.0 | The product of the institutions, the state militaries, that take great care |
| 1:48.0 | in hosting and incubating those skills and assets. |
| 1:52.0 | I'm Jacob Schultz and this is the LawFair podcast, |
| 1:56.0 | June 27th, 2022. |
| 2:00.0 | An interesting sub-plot of the Russian invasion and subsequent war in Ukraine |
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