"Private Military Companies" (PMCs) steadily grew in the early nineties of the 20th century in sub-Saharan Africa within the context of the so-called "New Wars", the spread of neo-liberalism and the nation-state crisis. PMCs such as South Africa's Executive Outcomes (EO) or the UK-based Sandline International, both included in a network of minerals and gems international corporations, claimed to provide "integrated security packages" to national governments with major internal security troubles (eg. in Angola, in 1993, against the UNITA, and in Sierra Leone, in 1995, against the RUF). PMCs were able to recruit mercenaries willing to fight in the battlefield. In parallel, corporate private security began to proliferate also elsewhere, as witnessed by a large number of "contractors" recruited by the US Army to perform security and ancillary tasks as for the military during the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. The latest developments in one of the a major crisis in Africa - the uprising of Boko Haram in Nigeria - saw a revival of the PMCs. The use of PMCS against the Islamic terrorism of Boko Haram is the goal of this work. PMCs' origins are highlighted (growth of "demand" and "supply" of the security services, the PMCs connections with Western economic corporations, etc.) before coming through an in-depth analysis of the Nigerian case, the mercenary intervention against Boko Haram and the ephemeral success that has been achieved. On the one hand, the paper emphasizes the unprecedented use of the PMCs against Islamic extremist groups, but on the other hand it reveals that mercenary interventions scenario did not change: it entails the weakness of national armies, the reluctance of Western governments to directly intervene in some conflicts, the PMCs ability to exploit a weak international legal framework, as well as their claim as an effective peacekeeping tool. However, there is still an open debate between those who advocate the regulation of private security and those who question not only the legitimacy of the use of PMCs but also their poor human rights records and the real effectiveness of this type of intervention.

The Terrorist & the Mercenary: The Role of Private Security in the Fight against Nigeria's Boko Haram

Adamo A
2016

Abstract

"Private Military Companies" (PMCs) steadily grew in the early nineties of the 20th century in sub-Saharan Africa within the context of the so-called "New Wars", the spread of neo-liberalism and the nation-state crisis. PMCs such as South Africa's Executive Outcomes (EO) or the UK-based Sandline International, both included in a network of minerals and gems international corporations, claimed to provide "integrated security packages" to national governments with major internal security troubles (eg. in Angola, in 1993, against the UNITA, and in Sierra Leone, in 1995, against the RUF). PMCs were able to recruit mercenaries willing to fight in the battlefield. In parallel, corporate private security began to proliferate also elsewhere, as witnessed by a large number of "contractors" recruited by the US Army to perform security and ancillary tasks as for the military during the campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. The latest developments in one of the a major crisis in Africa - the uprising of Boko Haram in Nigeria - saw a revival of the PMCs. The use of PMCS against the Islamic terrorism of Boko Haram is the goal of this work. PMCs' origins are highlighted (growth of "demand" and "supply" of the security services, the PMCs connections with Western economic corporations, etc.) before coming through an in-depth analysis of the Nigerian case, the mercenary intervention against Boko Haram and the ephemeral success that has been achieved. On the one hand, the paper emphasizes the unprecedented use of the PMCs against Islamic extremist groups, but on the other hand it reveals that mercenary interventions scenario did not change: it entails the weakness of national armies, the reluctance of Western governments to directly intervene in some conflicts, the PMCs ability to exploit a weak international legal framework, as well as their claim as an effective peacekeeping tool. However, there is still an open debate between those who advocate the regulation of private security and those who question not only the legitimacy of the use of PMCs but also their poor human rights records and the real effectiveness of this type of intervention.
2016
Private Military Companis (PMCs)
Nigeria
Boko Haram
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14243/329421
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