Understanding the tendencies in the use of private military and security companies in international security management

Résumé du document

The recent war in Iraq reveals the growing importance of the phenomenon of privatization of security and defense activities. It has been estimated that more than 20,000 private contractors were hired in Iraq to carry out military and security related activities. These new soldiers are not traditional mercenaries; they are under contract with private military and security firms. Today they are virtually considered the second largest contingent in Iraq after the U.S. military forces which signifies that one out ten people deployed in the country is a private contractor. After the September 11 attacks, the proportion of private security employees working for the Pentagon amounted to 39%. They are hired by a variety of actors - states, international organizations, humanitarian agencies, NGOs or private businesses.

After the end of the Cold War, the world has witnessed the emergence of a market for private security alongside the system of States. This tendency seems to contradict today's widespread consideration that the means of violence are the reserved feature of national sovereignty. However, the Weberian model of monopoly of the State over the legitimate use of violence has not been the general rule over history, but a characteristic of modern statehood. The private provision of security has existed since antiquity and developed through the Middle-Ages until the Peace of Westphalia. For instance, in the 13th century the Italian city-states conducted wars through the Condottieri –men under no state authority offering their services to the highest bidder.However, even in modern times such practices did not entirely disappear. For instance, in the American Revolution, the British army was assisted by Hessian forces that were rented. In the 1960s, mercenaries, often recalled as “dogs of war”, became increasingly present in several African conflicts.

Current private security and military companies can be distinguished from their historic predecessors because they have a unique characteristic: their corporate form. These companies should be distinguished from mercenaries, whose activity is prohibited in international law. Private military and security companies are registered businesses, integrated in the international market and even represented in the stock exchange. In opposition to the ad-hoc individual-based organization of mercenaries, private companies have a corporate hierarchical structure. Moreover, these companies offer a wider range of services than mercenaries such as training or intelligence gathering.

Extraits

[...] The reasons of emergence of private companies depended on particular security contexts. In the developing world, certain states suffered breakdowns in governance. In these failed or weak states, the almost complete absence of functioning state institutions and often poorly organized local militaries and police forces opened a new market for PMSCs to ensure security needs. Low intensity conflicts and warfare transformation The transformation in conflicts has played an important role in the emergence of these private companies. The expansion of these corporations is related to the multiplication and emergence of new threats: terrorism, organized crime or low intensity wars. [...]

[...] Current tendencies suggest that their role will keep increasing. Nevertheless, their survival will depend on their compatibility with the promotion of democratic governance and their ability to become legitimate actors, accountable for their actions and integrated in an adequate system of regulation. Bibliography AVANT, Deborah, Implications of Marketized Security for IR Theory: The Democratic Peace, Late State Building, and the Nature and Frequency of Conflict”, Perspectives on Politics, Vol (2006) pp 507-528 AVANT, Deborah, SIGELMAN, Lee, “Globalization, Private Security, and Democratic Processes: Implications for the Democratic Peace?” Working Paper 22, CIPSS, Research Group on International Security, November 2006 BRYDEN / CAPARINI (ed.) (2006), “Private Actors and Security Governance”, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces CHESTERMAN, Simon (2008), “Privatization of Intelligence”, in: European Journal of International Law, November 2008, vol p LEANDER, Anna, Market for Force and Public Security: The Destabilizing Consequences of Private Military Companies”, Journal of Peace Research Vol. [...]

[...] In the 1960s, mercenaries, often recalled as “dogs of became increasingly present in several African conflicts. Current private security and military companies can be distinguished from their historic predecessors because they have a unique characteristic: their corporate form. These companies should be distinguished from mercenaries, whose activity is prohibited in international law. Private military and security companies are registered businesses, integrated in the international marked and even represented in the stock exchange. In opposition to the had-hoc individual-based organization of mercenaries, private companies have a corporate hierarchical structure. [...]

[...] How does the inclusion of private actors that pursue objectives different from those of the states influence modern crisis management? Private security, a market's response to the new challenges of the Post-Cold War era Causes of emergence of the private security industry in the Post-Cold War world The growth of PMSCs on the global market has been in part driven by the confluence of three dynamics unique to the post-Cold War era which created a new space and demand for the establishment of the privatized industry of security. [...]

[...] In the case of EO and Sandline intervention in Sierra Leone, their efficiency in resolving the conflict appeared to be short- term. Their withdrawal in 1997 led to a new coup d'Etat in the country which rushed the country back into conflict. o Second, it can exacerbate grievances that led to the conflict and foster violence due to an unequal distribution of security, creating more secure areas in some locations and among the local population. Moreover, in this case security will become conditioned to financial resources. [...]