The privatization of security: modern conflict, globalization and weak states

Entered on 09/APR/2003

Privatized Defense Service Providers (PDSPs) have emerged as a firmly entrenched feature of contemporary international politics. Placing blame on PDSPs for the woes associated with state disintegration in Africa mistakes symptoms for causes. Failure to establish strong institutional foundations and professional armies when foreign aid resources were more plentiful has undermined the ability of states to respond to the challenges posed by guerrila insurgensies that proliferated in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Caught between the old anti-intervention norm, the new premeability of their borders, demands for reform and disinterest on the part of former sponsors, regimes under stress have limited options. PDSPs do not necessary provide the answer tto the problems generated. Assertions of possibilities ttend to outspace capabilities and ignore politicla limitations. In terms of regulation, national legislation, not a new international convention is the appropriate response.