Abstract
The recent war in Iraq reveals the growing importance of the phenomenon of privatization of security and defense activities. It has been estimated that more than 20,000 private contractors were hired in Iraq to carry out military and security related activities. These new soldiers are not traditional mercenaries; they are under contract with private military and security firms. Today they are virtually considered the second largest contingent in Iraq after the U.S. military forces which signifies that one out ten people deployed in the country is a private contractor. After the September 11 attacks, the proportion of private security employees working for the Pentagon amounted to 39%. They are hired by a variety of actors - states, international organizations, humanitarian agencies, NGOs or private businesses.
After the end of the Cold War, the world has witnessed the emergence of a market for private security alongside the system of States. This tendency seems to contradict today's widespread consideration that the means of violence are the reserved feature of national sovereignty. However, the Weberian model of monopoly of the State over the legitimate use of violence has not been the general rule over history, but a characteristic of modern statehood. The private provision of security has existed since antiquity and developed through the Middle-Ages until the Peace of Westphalia. For instance, in the 13th century the Italian city-states conducted wars through the Condottieri –men under no state authority offering their services to the highest bidder.However, even in modern times such practices did not entirely disappear. For instance, in the American Revolution, the British army was assisted by Hessian forces that were rented. In the 1960s, mercenaries, often recalled as “dogs of war”, became increasingly present in several African conflicts.
Current private security and military companies can be distinguished from their historic predecessors because they have a unique characteristic: their corporate form. These companies should be distinguished from mercenaries, whose activity is prohibited in international law. Private military and security companies are registered businesses, integrated in the international market and even represented in the stock exchange. In opposition to the ad-hoc individual-based organization of mercenaries, private companies have a corporate hierarchical structure. Moreover, these companies offer a wider range of services than mercenaries such as training or intelligence gathering.
