Role Of Private Military Companies Research Articles

Do mercenaries perform better than states? Evaluating the Wagner group’s impact on Central African Republic

ABSTRACT Do mercenaries perform better than democratic state armies? This study examines the efficacy of mercenary groups compared to state military interventions, using the Wagner Group’s operations in the Central African Republic as a case study. By comparing the French Operation Sangaris (2013–2016) with Wagner’s involvement (2021–2023), the research evaluates their relative effectiveness across counterinsurgency measures, military success, and popular responses. Utilizing data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, the analysis reveals that the Wagner Group outperformed the French intervention in most metrics, including territorial gains, geographical spread of operations, and reduction of civil unrest. These findings challenge prevailing assumptions about mercenaries’ ineffectiveness. The study suggests that the Wagner Group’s perceived effectiveness, despite its controversial reputation and association to human rights violations, explains its appeal to African governments seeking security solutions. This research contributes to ongoing debates about the role of private military companies in conflict zones and has implications for understanding the changing dynamics of security provision in Africa and beyond.

Частные военные компании как инструмент продвижения геополитических интересов

Private military companies (PMCs) are increasingly becoming the focus of various mass media outlets today, whereas 20–30 years ago they were perceived as something exotic. The disclosure of such entities’ activities has led to the formation of an entire segment of opinions-ranging from their omnipotence to a fashionable trend that holds little interest for the public. However, the emergence of geopolitical issues, the escalation of global tensions, and the active engagement of PMCs cannot be seen as coincidental. Furthermore, these entities themselves are not homogeneous; they perform a wide range of tasks and services, allowing for classification based on the sphere and geography of their activities. Particularly noteworthy is the role of PMCs in promoting the geopolitical and economic interests of states and transnational corporations. In this context, it is crucial to examine the reasons states opt to utilize such structures in place of conventional national military formations, as well as the future prospects for businesses seeking their services. As globalization accelerates, the intertwining of business and security interests becomes more pronounced, leading to a scenario where PMCs serve as facilitators for resource extraction and protection in volatile regions. This interplay raises questions regarding accountability, legality, and the ethical implications of employing private entities for missions traditionally held by state actors. In conclusion, the augmentation of PMCs in modern geopolitical landscapes presents a complex and multifaceted issue. Their growing prominence as instruments for advancing national and corporate interests warrants further investigation, as it bears significant implications for international relations, security policies, and the ethical considerations surrounding the privatization of military force.

PRIVATE MILITARY COMPANIES: LEGAL ASPECTS OF APPLICATION

Article is devoted to the problems of development of private military companies in Russia. It shows the practice of private military companies in the current political situation in the world. The phenomenon of private military companies (PMCs) is a rather controversial and ambiguous topic. Over the past more than thirty years, PMCs have played an increasingly important role in local wars and regional conflicts. With further globalization of the world economy, the role of PMCs in future wars and armed conflicts will be increasing. The authors study international documents regulating the activities of these organizations. They point out the necessity of adopting a law to allow this type of activity on the territory of the Russian Federation. Private military companies actually exist within the country and their legalization would allow to introduce their activities into the legal field. Private military companies influence the sphere of human rights, is connected with corruption and dishonest performance of obligations in implementation of contracts. The penalties for establishing and participating in illegal armed groups are shown. The possibilities of their application, both in Russia and abroad, are highlighted.

The Role of Private Military Companies in Defense Policy and Military Operations

This research explores the role of private military companies (PMCs) in defense policy and military operations. This research utilizes a qualitative approach, primarily relying on secondary data sources such as government reports, academic articles, and legal documents. The findings highlight PMCs' diverse legal and regulatory landscape, including international conventions and national legislation. These frameworks aim to provide oversight and accountability for the activities of PMCs, addressing their status, recruitment, and operational limitations. Furthermore, the study highlights the ethical considerations associated with using PMCs, such as human rights abuses, transparency, and accountability issues. Lastly, it uncovers the geopolitical implications of relying on PMCs, including the potential erosion of state sovereignty, regional power dynamics, and the risk of conflict escalation.

The Role of Chinese Private Military Companies in the Implementation of One Belt One Road Initiative

The study used historical and geopolitical approaches to examine the dialectical relationship of the activities of private military companies and security firms in China in implementing global economic projects of the People’s Republic of China. We identified the features of the formation and evolution of private military companies in China. The study analyzed the role of private military companies in the implementation of the «One Belt, One Road» initiative. It is important to note that the Chinese leadership is well aware of the importance of private military companies in the implementation of the country’s economic projects and acts in this direction consistently, while maintaining state control over their activities. Currently, China’s private military firms play an important role not only in the implementation of economic projects of the state, but also in protecting the interests of business and citizens of the People’s Republic of China.

ЧАСТНЫЕ ВОЕННЫЕ КОМПАНИИ КАК ИНСТРУМЕНТ ОСУЩЕСТВЛЕНИЯ СИЛОВОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ ГИБРИДНЫХ ВОЙН

Aim. To study the role of private military companies as a tool for implementing the power strategy of hybrid wars. Methodology. The analysis of private military companies activities as one of the components of hybrid warfare forms reveals the models and specifics of these organizations participation in armed conflicts. The work uses various general scientific methods, as well as comparative and institutional methods, the method of system analysis. Results. The activities of private military companies are a distinctive feature of military conflicts of the XXI century. These structures are an effective tool for implementing foreign policy, as well as an integral part of a set of measures that is used in the hybrid warfare. Cooperation with various subjects of international relations allows private military companies to act as an independent political actor. Three forms of participation of private military companies in hybrid wars are identified and analyzed: the conduct of military operations by the state with the involvement of PMCs; the hiring of PMCs by the state for operations; the assistance of PMCs in the implementation of military operations conducted by other states. Research implications. The results obtained allow us to expand approaches to the consideration of existing problems, create prerequisites for further study of the role of PMCs in the system of international relations.

The role of private armed forces in the traditional concepts of security

Seen from a historical point of view, security and defense have always been tasks mostly dealt with by state institutions (police, armed forces and intelligence services). The state's monopoly over the instruments of force has visibly 'weakened' in the past two decades, largely as a result of the privatization trend permeating all areas of modern society. After the end of the Cold War, private military companies have started to extensively provide professional military services, both to developing countries and industrialized countries. These services range from strategic, tactical and technological advice, training and logistical support, to providing exclusively military (combat) services to governments of various countries, multinational corporations, international organizations, non-government agencies and other non-state actors. Private military companies are certainly not a transient phenomenon or occurrence; on the contrary, they will be very important providers of private military services in the future. In this regard, the paper generally and systematically examines the role of private military companies and armed forces, in the traditional concepts of both national and international security, with special overview of their historical development.

Security Beyond the State: Global Security Assemblages in International Politics

To date, most discussion of security privatization in international politics has been focused on the role of private military companies and mercenaries. This article seeks to shift the focus away from the battlefields and toward the less spectacular privatization and globalization of commercial private security. Drawing on Saskia Sassen’s notion of state ‘‘disassembly,’’ we situate the growth of private security within broader shifts in global governance. Pointing to the weakness of seeing the rise of private security as an erosion of state power and authority, we show instead a re-articulation of the public ⁄private and global ⁄local distinctions and relationships into what we term ‘‘global security assemblages.’’ Analyzing the role of private security in two such assemblages in Sierra Leone and Nigeria, we show how a range of different security agents and normativities interact, cooperate and compete, to produce new institutions, practices and forms of security governance. Global security assemblages thus mark important developments in the relationship between security and the sovereign state, structures of political power and authority, and the operations of global capital. Spurred by the apparent return of mercenary activities in Africa at the end of the Cold War, and given further impetus and urgency by the substantial involvement of private military contractors in Afghanistan and Iraq, the privatization of security has become one of the most controversial issues in contemporary international politics. Once obscure companies such as Blackwater, Triple Canopy, and Erinys have joined with tales of ‘‘neo-mercenaries’’ like Executive Outcomes in Sierra Leone and Simon Mann’s attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea in 2004, to become the focus of widespread journalistic coverage, increasingly sophisticated scholarly analysis, as well as popular books, entertainment and Hollywood films. Yet the privatization of security and its consequences go well beyond the activities of the private soldier. Away from the battlefields, in the day-to-day activities of ordinary life, private security has also become ubiquitous. Less spectacular than the ‘‘return of the dogs of war,’’ commercial private security activities, ranging from manned guarding and alarm installation, to risk analysis and surveillance, have expanded at a phenomenal rate. Worldwide, the commercial private security market is now valued at $165 billion, and its growth is forecast to continue at an annual rate of 8% for the foreseeable future (Securitas 2007). Indeed, what was once described as a ‘‘quiet revolution’’ in security provision has become global in scope (Shearing and Stenning 1981).

The Role of Private Military Companies in US-Africa Policy

This article discusses the increasing use of private military companies (PMCs) in United States’ security policy in Africa, and examines this phenomenon in relation to the US’ various military training programmes on the continent. We argue that the increasing use of PMCs in US security policy has evolved due to two critical and mutually dependent developments; African state weakness and resource stringency on the one hand, and the US's overwhelming security commitments around the world, combined with military downsizing, on the other. The article further argues that the involvement of PMCs is to a large extent informed by US concerns about access to African resources, especially oil, in the face of stiff competition from China. We conclude that the increasing US engagement in Africa is highly militaristic and state-centric, and that it is primarily conditioned by US strategic interests and does not necessarily reflect African security concerns: human security for development.