October 29, 2025: WACC Private Dinner with Candace Rondeaux, Senior Director, Future Frontlines and Planetary Politics; Professor of Practice, Arizona State University, and Author of “Putin’s Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos”

The World Affairs Council of Charlotte is honored to host renowned expert Candace Rondeaux, Senior Director of Future Frontlines and Planetary Politics at Arizona State University, Professor of Practice, and author of Putin’s Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos, on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025.

Rondeaux will offer a compelling analysis of how Russia’s growing dependence on paramilitary forces signals a broader shift in modern warfare. She will explore the global implications of this mercenary strategy, highlighting its destabilizing impact in regions such as Ukraine, Africa, and the Middle East, and what it may signal for the future of international conflict and great power rivalry. Drawing on her groundbreaking research and firsthand reporting, Rondeaux will lead a thought-provoking discussion on the intersection of authoritarian power, irregular warfare, and global security. This private, off-the-record dinner provides a rare opportunity for attendees to engage with her directly.

Join us for an evening of stimulating dialogue and expert analysis as we explore the intersection of state power, private military actors, and the future contours of international conflict.

WACC Private Dinner Sponsorship Info – DOWNLOAD LINK

Program Information: 

Date:
Wednesday, October 29, 2025
Reception:
6:00 – 6:30 PM
Dinner and Discussion:
6:30 – 8:00 PM
Location:
Hilton Charlotte Uptown (222 E. Third St., Charlotte, NC 28202)
Cost: 
$110 (WACC Member Rate) | $140 (Non-Member Rate) — Limited to 24 people. 
Includes pre-dinner wine, salad, entrée, dessert, wine during dinner, and coffee service

For non-online payments, please call 704-687-7762 or mail your check to “World Affairs Council of Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223.”

 

 

 

 

Biography: 

Candace Rondeaux is a globally recognized expert on international affairs, US national security, irregular warfare, and the strategic use of organized violence. Her book, Putin’s Sledgehammer: The Wagner Group and Russia’s Collapse into Mercenary Chaos (PublicAffairs, May 2025), reveals how mercenaries, mobsters, and oligarchs have become central tools of Kremlin power projection.

She serves as the Senior Director for the Future Frontlines program at New America, an open-source public intelligence service for next-generation security and democratic resilience. She also directs the Planetary Politics initiative, a cross-disciplinary program that aims to find solutions to the wicked problems posed by digitization and decarbonization in a multipolar world. Rondeaux is also a professor of practice with the Future Security Initiative at Arizona State University and a faculty affiliate with ASU’s Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies. Before joining New America and ASU, she served as a Senior Program Officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she led the RESOLVE Network, a global research consortium on countering violent extremism. As Senior Analyst for the International Crisis Group in Afghanistan and Strategic Adviser to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, she produced high-impact analysis on national elections and security sector reform.

Rondeaux’s writing career began on the crime and courts beat, covering breaking news across New York, Florida, Virginia, and Maryland. An award-winning journalist, she reported from Ground Zero after the September 11 attacks for the New York Daily News, chronicled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina for the St. Petersburg Times, and was part of The Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. Her reporting later took her to the frontlines of Afghanistan and Pakistan, where she served as the Post’s bureau chief. Her analysis and commentary have also been regularly featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Lawfare, Small Wars Journal, Just Security, Daily Beast, and World Politics Review. She has testified before Congress and provided expert advice to several UN panels and commissions on conflict, the protection of civilians, transnational organized crime, and the outsourcing of violence. She has documented political violence and conflicts in hotspots around the world, including Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Georgia, and Ukraine. She holds a B.A. in Russian Area Studies from Sarah Lawrence College, an M.A. in Journalism from NYU, and an M.P.P. from Princeton University.