There is general consensus that mercenarism is and should remain prohibited. The difficulty that has arisen is firstly one of defining the exact nature of mercenarism, and more specifically what actions constitute mercenary actions. A further difficulty arises in that much of the legislation intended to outlaw mercenarism is impacting on the legal activity of private military and security contractors, who fall short of the definitional requirements of mercenarism. The two groups being so closely linked that they are often mistakenly conflated . There is currently a need to develop a response to the private military security industry, which is better suited to effectively regulate their activities, whilst also effectively criminalising the activities of those who actions amount to mercenarism. The dissertation therefore sets about analysing how these two distinct sectors: mercenaries and private military security companies, are regulated at an international and domestic level. It then uses the lessons learnt from these regulator attempts, and the various policy considerations which countries have to make, to propose a way forward in creating an effective regulatory system for mercenaries and private military companies at an international and domestic level. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.

The rise of the Private Military Industry has been cemented in modern global political reality, but where next will this multi-billion dollar industry go and what form will it take after the market boom of Iraq? Post-Colonial Africa is considered the birthplace of the modern mercenary and historically features prominently as a testament to the potential for immoral privately sponsored military activities within unstable states. Moreover, it is a rich market that the Private Military Industry is increasingly turning its attention to, albeit focussing on support functions for now, but a massive industry with a competitive and poorly regulated market environment will invariably begin to explore different avenues as competition grows. With market diversification grows the ethical risk of abuse. At the same time, peacekeeping efforts across the continent are hampered by numerous factors, not least of all a chronic lack of trained personnel. Could the legal and political legitimacy, not to mention the sustainable market environment sought by the PMI potentially exist in multilaterally sanctioned, privatised peacekeeping and peace support operations in Africa? Can the ethical challenges of mercenarism be suspended or even bypassed for the sake of expedient intervention in potential genocides, or be perhaps pragmatically accepted as an inevitable development that should be embraced rather than condemned, for strategic security reasons? Can the ethical condemnation of the proposed means of peace support be overridden by the potential ends generated by such a move? Is the world ready for privatised peacekeepers? This dissertation explores the ethical background to the privatisation of military operations and how these foreign policy trends and social perceptions of control of force impact on the notion of privatised peacekeeping, particularly in the context of operations in Africa. It investigates the philosophical implications of privatised peacekeeping by way of a constrained pragmatic form of consequentialist evaluation that warns against reckless expediency. Ultimately, this dissertation offers a more philosophically suitable argument to justify and control this seemingly inevitable next step in the trend of privatisation of force. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Par une approche qui s’efforce de relier la question de la culture de la guerre à la prise de conscience des dimensions sociales, économiques, politiques du fait guerrier, cette étude met en lumière la construction de la figure du lansquenet au prisme des pratiques de ces mercenaires germaniques et des représentations des contemporains français. Pour cerner cette figure dominante de la Renaissance, il s’agit de circonscrire les stratégies mises en œuvre par les lansquenets, c’est-à-dire l’arsenal de symboles, de discours et de comportements auquel les membres de ce groupe se réfèrent, et de les confronter aux discours des militaires et des civils français afin d’appréhender la perception qu’ils ont d’eux et les comportements qu’ils développent à leur égard. La dialectique entre les pratiques des lansquenets et les représentations françaises de ceux-ci illustrent les transformations profondes de la monarchie française à l’aube de l’Époque moderne et dévoile l’appréhension d’une société face à l’altérité. / Through an approach that seeks to link the question of the culture of war to the awareness of the social, economic and political dimensions of war, this study highlights the construction of the figure of the landsknecht through the prism of the practices of these German mercenaries and the representations of French contemporaries. To identify this dominant figure of the Renaissance, it is a question of circumscribing the strategies implemented by the lansquenets, i.e. the arsenal of symbols, speeches and behaviours to which the members of this group refer, and to confront them with the discourses of the French military and civilians in order to apprehend the perception they have of the landsknechte and the behaviours they develop towards them. The dialectic between the practices of the Lansquenets and the French representations of them illustrate the profound transformations of the French monarchy at the dawn of the Modern Era and reveals a society's apprehension of alterity.

Tens of thousands of contractors work for private military and security companies (PMSCs) in armed conflicts around the world, often hired by states to fulfil functions that were once the exclusive domain of the armed forces. In this context, PMSCs have performed a wide range of activities including offensive combat, prisoner interrogation, military advice and training, armed security, intelligence and logistics. The proliferation of PMSCs during the past two decades has challenged conventional conceptions of the state as the primary holder of coercive power in the international arena. Nonetheless, this Thesis argues that the traditional state-centred frameworks of international law remain vitally relevant to the regulation of private security activity in contemporary armed conflict. Three states are in a strong position to influence PMSCs in this context—the state that hires the PMSC, the state in which the company is based or incorporated, and the state in which the company operates—and this capacity for influence enables international law to regulate PMSC activities indirectly using these states as an intermediary. This Thesis critically analyses the pertinent international obligations on these three categories of states and identifies the circumstances in which PMSC misconduct may give rise to state responsibility in each case. It also examines the recent practice of certain key states in order to evaluate their compliance with these obligations. By providing a clear and in-depth analysis of states' international obligations to control PMSCs in armed conflict, this Thesis may not only facilitate the assessment of state responsibility in cases of PMSC misconduct; it may also play an important prospective role in setting standards of conduct for states in relation to the private security industry. This in turn may encourage and assist states to develop their domestic laws and policies in order to improve overall PMSC compliance with international law.

Thesis (M.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, 2005. / Title from title screen (viewed Apr. 16, 2008). Cites June 2003 GAO report GAO-03-695, "Contractors provide vital services to deployed forces but are not adequately addressed in DoD plans." "June 2005." The original document contains color images. "ADA435597"--URL. Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-96). Also issued in paper format.

No description available.

[pt] O presente trabalho busca analisar a situação regulatória das empresas pri-vadas militares, as PMSCs na sigla em inglês, em sua atuação em conflitos inter-nacionais. O debate sobre as PMSCs ronda em primeiro lugar sobre a diferencia-ção entre essas entidades e mercenários, que são considerados ilegais. Com isso a primeira parte da pesquisa aborda a situação legal das PMSCs e a as diferenças entre elas e o mercenarismo tradicional, concluindo que essas empresas não se encontram em uma zona cinzenta do sistema legal. Em seguida são analisados os sistemas regulatórios que essas empresas estão sujeitas e propostas para coibir violações dos Direitos Humanos em suas operações. São destacados os sistemas de autorregulação e de regulação internacional, que se desdobra de regimes inter-nacionais para o mercenarismo. Tendo em vista o desenvolvimento do mercado para as PMSCs o trabalho propõe uma certificação de direitos humanos no âmbito da autorregulação como a resposta mais adequada para lidar com o dinamismo na indústria atual. / [en] The present work seeks to analyze the regulatory system of private military and security companies, the PMSCs, for their actions in international conflicts. The debate on the PMSCs first deals with the distinction between these entities and mercenaries, which are considered illegal. Thus the first part of the research deals with the legal situation of the PMSCs and the differences between them and traditional mercenaries, concluding that these companies are not in a gray zone of International law. The following are analyzed the regulatory systems that these companies are subject to and proposals to curb human rights violations in their operations. The system of self-regulation is compared to international regime regulations, which are deployed from international regimes for mercenaries. From analyzing the development of the market for PMSCs the work proposes a certification based in human rights to be integrated in self-regulation as the most adequate response to deal with the dynamism in the current industry.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis evaluates and explores the function of Private Military Companies (PMCs) on the African continent. The phenomenon of PMCs evolved after the end of the Cold War. This study focuses on the relevant international and national legislation regulating PMCs that conduct active military assistance operations. These PMC operations have a strategic impact on the political, social, economical and security environments of the areas in which they are contracted to operate. The purpose of the thesis is to assess whether PMCs are efficient and cost effective, can be held accountable and to whom, and if current legislation (national and international) regulating PMCs is sufficient. This thesis is a literature survey that seeks descriptive and comparative information relevant to the purpose of this study. It deals with that information qualitatively. No empirical research has been conducted. It is therefore not an opinion survey as no questionnaires have been completed, although interviews with knowledgeable people have been conducted. The thesis focuses on the operations conducted by the now defunct Executive Outcomes (of the Republic of South Africa), a combat type PMC in Angola and Sierra Leone and Military Professional Resources Incorporated (of the United States of America), a non-combat type PMC in Equatorial Guinea. The study concludes that PMC operations through legitimate government contracts at international level are indeed legitimate. The regulations (international and national, if they exist) regarding PMCs are not sufficient, and allow for many grey areas. PMCs that operate in this sphere of grey areas are unacceptable for the international community in the current milieu. PMCs are, however, operating in a vacuum of accountability and regulation (international and national). With sufficient legislation, PMCs could be the new peacemakers. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis evalueer en ondersoek die funksionering van Privaat Militêre Maatskappye (PMM’e) en hul werksaamhede in Afrika. Die PMM-verskynsel het voortgespruit uit die stilstand van die Koue Oorlog. Die tesis fokus op die relevante internasionale en nasionale wetgewing rakende PMM’e wat aktief in een of ander formaat by militêre operasies betrokke is. Hierdie PMM-operasies het ’n beduidende strategiese impak op die sosio-politiese, ekonomiese en sekuriteitareas van die gebiede waartoe hul gekontrakteer is. Die doel van die tesis is om die effektiwiteit en koste-effektiwiteit van PMM’e te evalueer, asook om uit te vind of hulle aanspreeklik is en aan wie hulle verantwoording moet doen. Daar is ook gefokus op huidige wetgewing (internasionaal sowel as nasionaal) rakende PMM’e om die doeltreffendheid van sodanige wetgewing te bepaal. Hierdie tesis is ‘n opname van beskrywende en vergelykende literatuurstudies, relevant tot die doel van die tesis. Inligting is kwalitatief aangewend. Geen empiriese navorsing is onderneem nie. Hierdie tesis is ook nie gebaseer op ‘n meningsopname nie. Geen vraelyste is ingevul nie, maar daar is wel onderhoude met kenners van die betrokke vakgebied gevoer. Die tesis fokus op die vroeëre werksaamhede van die ontbinde “Executive Outcomes” as Suid-Afrikaanse PMM wat aktief betrokke was by oorlogvoering in Angola en Sierra Leone en ook op die steeds aktiewe Amerikaanse PMM “Military Professional Resources Incorporated” wat in Ekwatoriaal Guinieë werksaam is en wat nie aktief by oorlogvoering betrokke raak nie. Die tesis kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat PMM-kontrakte wat bekom word deur legitieme regeringskontrakte op internasionale vlak wel legitiem is. Daar is bevind dat wetgewing (internasionaal en nasionaal, waar wel beskikbaar) rakende PMM’e egter nie voldoende en effektief is nie. Daar is steeds baie grys areas rakende verantwoordbaarheid en wetgewing van PMM’e. Dit is in hierdie grys areas waarin baie PMM’e funksioneer en waardeur hulle onaanvaarbaar vir die internasionale gemeenskap in die huidige klimaat is. Doeltreffende wetgewing kan moontlik verseker dat PMM’e die nuwe vredemakers kan word.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have become increasingly important actors since the end of the Cold War. They provide a wide range of services and are therefore difficult to classify. Many view them as new front companies for mercenaries, which this thesis argues is not the case. Few states have put in place legislation to deal with the problems caused by these companies, and they are therefore generally not accountable to states. This is problematic because their services are within an area where states have traditionally had monopoly. This thesis studies the new South African legislation, the Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain Activities in Country of Armed Conflict Act of 2006, which was put in place in order to ban mercenaries and regulate the services offered by the private military and security companies based in the country. By comparing it to the older South African legislation, the thesis evaluates the extent to which the new legislation has been able to close loopholes inherent in the old legislation. The new South African legislation is also compared to the international conventions which bans mercenaries. By banning these actors, South Africa is very much in line with the international community when it designed the conventions. However, PNSCs are not mercenaries. The thesis then compares the new South African legislation to the domestic regulation in place in the United States of America. It finds that despite having many of the same weaknesses as the South African legislation, it is more likely that the American regulation will be abided by than the South African. This is due to the positive relationship between the US government and American PMSCs, and the fact that the government is a major client of the companies. South Africa does not enjoy the same positive relationship with its companies. Finally, the new South African legislation is compared to the UK Green Paper of 2002, which presented options of how to deal with the companies. The ban on mercenaries put in place by the new South African legislation was discouraged in the Green Paper. The licensing regime (as in the USA) that was proposed by the Green Paper, however, is similar to the authorisation scheme established in South Africa.

The purpose of this thesis document is to explain the process of making the documentary film, No Quarter: The Story of the New Orleans Greys. The document is organized by having the prospectus and the film proposal at the beginning, with the body describing how the film was made based on the prospectus. The purpose of the film is to tell the history of a unit of volunteers in the Texas Revolution, the New Orleans Greys. The document describes the methods used to make the film and how it will be distributed to the intended audience. As the thesis explains, the film changed slightly from the prospectus, however the resulting film was successful in telling the history of the little-known New Orleans Greys.