Private Military Corporations TRAINING SESSION

What are PMCs?  Companies that provide armed military and security forces  Backing, logistics  Consulting  Training  Tactics  Actual warfare  Who is part of them?  Ex-soldiers- mostly $ reasons  Trained civilians  Other experts

What are PMCs?  They operate  Internally- personal security services, guarding locations/communities  Are they a legitimate holder of force?  Non-state actor with the power to use force-problematic  Externally -they are hired by states to fight in wars/interventions, and also by international bodies like the UN  Raises problems of legitimacy and accountability  Changes the way wars and interventions are fought(more complicated balances of power)  Challanges superiority of the state

Reasons for the rise of PMCs  Strategic vacuum created at the end of the Cold War  Large armies being downsized  Selling of URSS assets  lots of sophisticated equipment  ‘Body bag syndrome’  The changing nature of war  Not gradual accumulation of manpower  More power to smaller groups  More complex war  need for specialist forces  Acceptance of privatisation as a good thing  Private schools, prisons  State-considered incapable of correctly managing certain services(in this case security)

Effects of the rise in PMCs  Good aspects  1. Unique services and state intervention alternative  They provide services that might have otherwise not been provided by the state, or anyone, by that matter-only alternative to lots of people dying  In international intervention, they provide an alternative for state intervention  Paying for PMCs requires less political capital than sending own army  ‘Body bag’ syndrome  High quality and experience  2. Necessary for economic and political activity  In certain countries they protect industries-essential for functioning (oil rigs, mines, etc)  Essential in state reconstruction  Peace-keeping means institutions can be rebuilt properly and political discourse can happen

Effects of the rise in PMCs  Criticisms  1. Legitimacy  State used to have monopoly on the use of violence, why should a non state actor be granted that right  Since it represents only individuals who pay, it even more power in society to people who have a lot of influence-not representative(but should it be?  2. Accountability  Information gap between gov and PMCs  PMCs are not held accountable the same ways armies do, also the degree of transparency is quite low  This might influence their behaviour, also makes it harder for just wars to be fought, or for human rights to be respected  3.Incentives  Profit-driven entities, with different power structures  They might prolongue conflicts in some cases(they need to convince clients that their services are still needed)  Disproportionate use of force

Effects of the rise in PMCs  Responses  The monopoly of violence point  Loses importance when states(both internally and externally) cannot provide the security that certain groups of people need  PMCs can be held accountable  Stricter legislation : e.g. International Code of Conduct for Private Security Providers  More precise contracts  Profit incentives-yes!  Market driven profit incentives  Which means quality of services also matters, reputation is a thing  Cannot do abuses of power/lie to your clients to a large extent/have malpractice happening  This + stricter legislation  reforms in the PMC industry

Effects of the rise in PMCs  Concessions power  Some PMCs gain a lot of influence  For example, they protect a mine for a share of the profits  But the mine cannot really function without their protection, and they know that  Controlling a vital industry for a state gives an actor lot of political capital, and lower the ability of country to have meaningful change and reform  Diamonds in Sierra Leone  Wood in Liberia  Oil in Angola  Scandals  Sept 2007: Blackwater contractors kill 17 civilians in an unprovoked attack  PMCs involved in prison abuse in Abu Ghraib

PMCs in Iraq  at least civillian contractors  Providing security, supplied armed guards, trained troups  Also trained Iraqi police and army after the war  Escorting supply convoys  They were sometimes arrested by the US military, for acting inappropriately  2005-’trophy’ video showing private military contractors killing Iraqi civilians – Aegis Defence Services  Blackwater-one of the most famous companies in Iraq. It had its license revoked by the Iraqi government on September  SO  Problems of legitimacy  Problems of human rights

UN and Peacekeeping  The UN Charter gives the UN Security Council primary responsibility for peacekeeping  Role and problems of peacekeeping operations  Secure peace so that law of order and institution reconstruction can happen in post-war societies  Protect civilians  Conflict prevention  Hard for these forces to come from individual countries because there is a lot of political capital needed  A lot of political capital needed in order to mobilise troups  Spending money is a lot easier than sending troups

UN and Peacekeeping  What do UN Peacekeepers get assigned to do?  Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of ex-combatants;  Mine action;  Security sector reform and other rule of law-related activities;  Protection and promotion of human rights;  Electoral assistance;  Support for the restoration and extension of State authority;  Promotion of social and economic recovery and development.  So..PMCs could be regarded as a legit solution. Should they be?

Factors that influence peacekeeping  An important issue with peacekeeping is the ability to act fast  It is more likely for the deterrant factor to be higher if you have the capability to act fast  Guidance on the principles of consent and impartiality  Being regarded as legitimate by the population  Promote national and local ownership  Sensitivity towards the population and keeping professionalism standards high