Private Military and Security Companies and Regional Security Governance: An interpretive perspective of the United Arab Emirates policies

Abstract

Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) are, currently, possessing huge potentials to be considered game-changers in international security. They have gained broader acceptance. However, they are controversial actors who could be indispensable in somewhere and risky in other where. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), is considered one of the Middle East region’s states, and it has recently made remarkable use of PMSCs outside its boundaries. The Middle East region is the most troubled region, where many countries are undergoing uncertain transition, in addition to many conflicts. The UAE pursues to avoid sliding in the same situation and attain some benefits given the region’s status quo. So, it seems like a window of opportunities that the UAE try to invest to enhance its influence. The theoretical framework for this article is underpinned by the concept of Security Governance as defined by the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance and the Regional Security Complex Theory developed by Barry Buzan. The article does not purport to make a judgment on the legitimacy of PMSCs, nor to evaluate the legal statute of their activities. Hereof this article focuses on two main parts; first, on reviewing the development of the relation between the PMSCs and the Middle East security governance and the second, it analyses the perspective of the UAE toward the use of PMSCs in addressing its regional policy regarding the Middle East region and the implications of this perspective in formulating such policies.