The Private Military Company: A Legitimate International Entity Within Modern Conflict

Abstract

This thesis investigates the post-Cold War evolution of private military companies. Specifically this study will focus on the measure of international legitimacy that is afforded to private military companies that conduct active military assistance operations that have a strategic impact on the political and security environments in which they are contracted to operate. The thesis has focussed the contract operations conducted by Executive Outcomes (Republic of South Africa), Sandline International (United Kingdom), and Military Professional Resources Incorporated (United States of America) within the time frame of 1988 to the present. The study concludes that at the international level, active military assistance operations conducted by private military companies are indeed legitimate, but that measurement of legitimacy can only be assessed as being de-facto and amoral. Moreover these missions are being conducted within a vacuum of effective regulation and accountability at the international and national levels that is decidedly inappropriate for the international realm in the twenty first century.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA396480

Entities

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Department Of State
  • Employment
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Science
  • Military Training
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Private Military Companies
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.