Private Security Companies and Civil-Military Cooperation

Abstract

Since the end of the Cold War the global security conditions have changed, leading to a continuing increase in the numbers of private suppliers operating in crisis areas and particularly in international interventions. The scope of services offered by private providers in the security sector ranges from consultation, training and logistic support to land mine clearance and combat missions. This results in a blurring of boundaries between military and civil tasks. A rising attention to private security companies (PSCs) cannot only be observed in the media, but also among scientific researchers and — in an early stage - in political debates. The use of PSCs in international interventions by some governments promotes further reflections on this form of security provision. As the war in Iraq has recently shown, the topic is of immediate relevance, supported by the fact that members of the coalition of the willing, and in particular the United States of America (USA), employ nearly 20,000 workers of private security firms. The conjunction of civil — particularly humanitarian — actors and military powers, which is defined by the term civil-military cooperation (CIMIC), entails a bunch of difficulties specifically in the settings of peace support operations (PSOs).