Guns for Hire

Author: Atlantic Council

The Guns for Hire podcast is a production of the Atlantic Councils North Africa Initiative. Taking Libya as its starting point, it explores the causes and implications of the growing use of mercenaries in armed conflict. The podcast features guests from many walks of life, from ethicists and historians to former mercenary fighters. It seeks to understand what the normalisation of private warfare tells us about the world as we currently find it, but also about the future of the international system and about what war could look like in the coming decades. Written and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi.
Be a guest on this podcast

Language: en-us

Genres: Science, Social Sciences

Contact email: Get it

Feed URL: Get it

iTunes ID: Get it

Trailer:

Get all podcast data

Listen Now...

“Youth as merchandise”: Iraqi mercenaries in Ukraine
Episode 13
Friday, 5 December, 2025

Send Alia a Text MessageAlia is joined by the Iraqi political analyst Mohammed Salih to discuss the legion of Iraqi men turning up on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine. They explore how poverty and political dysfunction in Iraq have been weaponised by mercenary recruitment networks – and how death in Europe has been packaged as an economic opportunity. They consider the possible complicity of prominent Iran-backed militias in Iraq, or even parts of the Iraqi state itself, and the ways in which Iraq’s recent history has made the sale of martial services a normalised part of survival. Mohammed also talks listeners through the implications of Iraq’s November elections, recent attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan, and what options there might be for “disarming” pro-Iran militias in Iraq. "There has been some reporting of Iran-backed militia groups facilitating this human trafficking recruitment scheme for the Russian side... There is the suspicion that there is some sort of an officially permissive environment that allowed this, because it is not happening on a small scale."The Guns for Hire podcast is written, produced and hosted by Dr Alia Brahimi. Get in touch at: gunsforhirepodcast@gmail.com.