State Control over Private Military and Security Companies in Armed Conflict

Abstract

The past two decades have witnessed the rapid proliferation of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in armed conflicts around the world, with PMSCs participating in, for example, offensive combat, prisoner interrogation and the provision of advice and training. The extensive outsourcing of military and security activities has challenged conventional conceptions of the state as the primary holder of coercive power and raised concerns about the reduction in state control over the use of violence. Hannah Tonkin critically analyses the international obligations on three key states - the hiring state, the home state and the host state of a PMSC - and identifies the circumstances in which PMSC misconduct may give rise to state responsibility. This analysis will facilitate the assessment of state responsibility in cases of PMSC misconduct and set standards to guide states in developing their domestic laws and policies on private security.

Privatne vojne kompanije u modernom dobu

“…Прва се односи на квалитет и врсту војне, полицијске или обавештајне обуке коју је регрут стекао за време ангажовања у оквиру неке државне безбедносне службе (војска, полиција, обавештајна служба), или квалитет и врсту обуке коју је регрут добио у оквиру приватног безбедносног сектора. 18 Други фактор је повезан са нивоом знања које регрут има, јединицом или службом којој је припадао, чином који је регрут имао у тој јединици или служби, специфичним задацима које је обављао, врсти наоружања и опреме за коју је обучен, теренском иску- 16 Ortiz, C.: Исто, стр. 51.…”

Dystopias Go Global: The Transnational Reorganization of Territories and Societies in Elysium

“…At the same time, Elysium presents a more nuanced picture of current geopolitical trends than the aforementioned films by capturing the proliferation of private armies and mercenaries since the 1990s, a process that has contributed to increasing the volume of private economic activity and to the consolidation of neoliberalism (Singer 2003;tonkin 2011;McFate 2014;Varin 2015). In the film, Kruger retrieves the missiles that he is asked to launch from a container displaying the words "Elysium corporate Authority" and "Civil cooperation Bureau" [my emphasis], hinting that he is not part of the military.…”

Book Review Essay: Three Faces of Security Devolution

“…According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office's report in 2008, the amount of money spent on private contractors was between $15 billion and $20 billion (Carmola , 9). In addition, there are a significant number of PMSC personnel, such as the British and American contractors who worked in Iraq following the 2003 invasion and the large number of host state nationals currently working for foreign PMSCs in Iraq (Tonkin , 182). There was approximately 181 private security companies working in Iraq, employing just over 48,000 workers (Isenberg , 27).…”