Private Organisations as an Extension of Government Power

Abstract

As Klare (2008: 177) noted, human civilisations have long fought one another for both access and control over valuable minerals, substances and materials. These ‘disputes’ can define an age, such as those over access to water, oil, land for homes, and agricultural development; the most sought-after resource, however, is oil. Fundamentally, oil is an essential resource for almost every aspect of modern life (Coll, 2012). Industrial nations such as America, the UK, Japan and China depend on oil for economic prosperity and have close links and have worked with the oil industry in conflict zones to maintain access and ensure supply of much-needed sources. The following chapter will therefore primarily examine how industrialised nations engage in state crime and state capture in search of oil. Drawing on two examples — Iraq and Africa — we highlight how the state and private sector interest combine and secure much-needed resources. These oil resources, however, are often in vulnerable locations — geographically and politically — and the long-term financial investment needed to extract oil from the earth is substantial (Coll, 2012). This investment is in need of protection; this leads us on to private military contractors and the ‘services’ they offer, ranging from ‘security’, technical assistance and intelligence for western states and incumbent dictators.