Maintaining order is a core function of the state. Yet, in many contexts, actors other than the state are involved in combating crime and violence. Such actors range from private security companies who sell protection to vigilante mobs who brutally punish criminal suspects. This dissertation explores how states maintain order when they are faced with private crime prevention efforts. Taken together, the three chapters of the dissertation provide insights into the determinants of law enforcement policy, the sources of citizens' willingness to cooperate with the state, and the social drivers of crime and violence. Chapter 1 presents a formal model that sheds light on the incentives of political parties to invest in law enforcement when citizens can purchase private protection. Private security measures like burglar alarms, camera systems, and security guards are pervasive in high income communities around the world. I model the supply of crime and the demand for private protection together with a political process that determines public spending on the police. The model provides conditions under which parties may over- and underspend on law enforcement relative to other government services. In relatively poor societies, left parties are prone to spend less and right parties are prone to spend more than the socially optimal amount on policing. The reverse is true in relatively rich societies, where the base of the right party can afford private protection. The results call into question the conventional wisdom that tough-on-crime policies are the domain of parties on the right, and provide an explanation for why such policies in various contexts have been implemented by left-wing politicians. Throughout the developing world, criminal suspects are often assaulted or even killed at the hands of their community. Chapter 2 considers the micro-dynamics of how state capacity affects citizens’ choice between the state and mob vigilantism. I present results from a field experiment in South Africa that creates variation in the capacity of police to locate households. Findings from mid- and endline surveys suggest households exposed to an increase in police capacity became more willing to rely on police and less willing to resort to vigilantism. Results from a mechanism experiment point towards increased fear of state punishment for vigilante violence rather than improved perceptions of police service quality as the link between state capacity and vigilantism. The broader implication is that citizens’ cooperation with capable state institutions may not necessarily reflect citizens’ satisfaction with state services. Instead, citizens may draw on state institutions because states limit citizens’ choices by sanctioning those who participate in informal practices that the state deems illegal. Chapter 3 draws on original surveys with more than 10,000 respondents from hundreds of communities in Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa to show that women are more likely than men to support mob vigilantism. This result runs counter to a large literature in public opinion that finds women are less supportive of violence than men across a variety of domains throughout industrialized contexts. Drawing on qualitative evidence, a vignette experiment in Uganda, and additional survey measures from Tanzania, the chapter shows that men and women differ in their beliefs about the downsides of mob vigilantism. Men are more likely to think mob vigilantism creates risks of false accusation for those who do not commit crime. The chapter traces this divergence in beliefs to differences in the extent to which men and women are at personal risk of being accused of a crime that they did not commit. The results highlight the role that beliefs play in the link between gender and views about violence.

The dominant trend in international security over the past decade has been a move towards ‘remote control’: the increasing use of special forces, private military and security companies and remote systems at the expense of the engagement of large forces. Paul Rogers analyses how this trend has developed, and asks whether it can really provide an appropriate response to the likely threats against global security in the coming years.

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.

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / Bibliography / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) are fast becoming a permanent structure in international security. PMSCs are made up of two groups, namely Private Military Companies (PMCs) and Private Security Companies (PSCs). Antagonism towards their existence and involvement in African civil wars is the result of some damaging effects of PMSCs- more specifically PMCs- including misconceptions. Both PMCs and PSCs are compared to mercenaries and definitional issues plague the private security industry. Private Military and Security Companies however are legal entities, different to mercenaries. This is why PMCs are sometimes referred to as "corporate warriors". As private companies PMCs often fill the security gaps left by international responses to African civil wars. Their contracts with legitimate governments offer a cheap and effective end to the violence of civil war. In recent years the use of PMSCs has increased among both weak and strong states. Antipathy however remains the prominent attitude in the international community, thus challenging the use of PMSCs. From this point of view, they are a ¡°scourge¡± because PMCs are not only likened to mercenaries of old who fight for private gain, but the arguments are also that they undermine the sovereignty of weak states, that they are unaccountable to the citizens of these states, that they violate human rights, that they don't solve root causes and that they contribute to militarization. The increase of civil conflicts in Africa and the surplus of military professionals after the Second World War meant that mercenaries became involved in African liberation struggles. By the end of the Cold War however- in an era that favours liberal economic practices and privatisation- professional legal Private Military and Security Companies were established to supplement the security gap left at the end of the Cold War. As mentioned, these are legal companies that don.t breach international conventions; are accountable to some home state legislation's and brought peace to Angola and Sierra Leone. International responses to security concerns- especially those in Africa- are burdened by the plethora of complex civil conflicts that simultaneously demand attention from the United Nations. PMCs may be equipped to execute Chapter VII mandates of the UN Charter, as these deal with robust enforcement functions at a time when the West is reluctant to intervene. What is perhaps required is more accountability (also to host state legislation) and oversight. The services of PMCs are beneficial to a number of stakeholders. These include the states in which they are registered, the states in which they operate, the citizenry that they protect, and they are profitable to the shareholders of the PMCs and diamond and oil companies they are contracted to. It is thus the conclusion of this thesis that Private Military Companies provide a faster and more cost- effective option for peacemaking in Africa. As private companies they are not bound by protocols and conventions but they must satisfy the company and its shareholders. And although the use of Private Military Companies is not dependent on the regulation of the industry, the PMSC industry would benefit from more self- regulation in the market place. Thus with relevant and more effective regulation, PMCs could become Africa's solution to her civil conflicts. Unlike in the Ballesteros report, the UN has to recognise this role. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Private Militere- en Sekuriteitsmaatskappye (PMSMe) is vinnig besig om 'n permanente struktuur in privaatsekuriteit te word. Skadelike uitwerkings van hierdie PMSMe, wanpersepsies ingesluit, is 'n gevolg van die antagonisme teenoor die maatskappye en hul betrokkenheid in burgeroorloë. PMSMe word met huursoldate vergelyk en gevolglik word die privaatsekuriteitsindustrie met kwessies rondom definiering gekwel. PMSMe, anders as huursoldate, is egter wettige entiteite. Om hierdie rede word PMSMe dikwels as "korporatiewe krygsmanne" (corporate warriors) beskryf. PMSMe, as private maatksappye, vul dikwels die sekuriteitsgapings wat deur die internasionale reaksies tot burgeroorloë in Afrika gelaat is. Hul kontrakte met legitieme regerings bied 'n goedkoop en effektiewe middel om die geweld van burgeroorloë te beëindig. Die gebruik van PMSMe het, gedurende die afgelope jare, in beide swak- en sterk state toegeneem. Antipatie dien steeds as in vername afkeur in die internasionale gemeenskap. Dit daag dus die gebruik van PMSMe uit. Hulle word steeds met huursoldate in die internasionale gemeenskap verwar. Terselfdertyd word geargumenteer dat PMSMe die soewereiniteit van swak regerings ondermyn, dat hulle nie verantwoordbaar aan die burgers van hierdie state is nie, dat hulle inbreuk maak op menseregte, dat hulle nie die kernoorsake van konflik oplos nie, en dat hulle tot militarisering bydra. Die toename in burgerlike konflikte in Afrika, tesame met die oorskot militêre vakkundiges na die Tweede Wereldoorlog, het gemaak dat huursoldate in Afrika se vryheidstryde betrokke geraak het. Teen die einde van die Koue Oorlog - gedurende 'n tydperk waar liberale ekonomiese praktyke en privatisering voorrang geniet het - was professionele wettige PMSMe byderhand om die sekuriteitsgaping aan te vul. Hierdie is dus wettige maatskappye wat nie internasionale konvensies skend nie, wat verantwoordbaar is aan sekere tuisstaatwetgewing, en wat vrede in Angola en Sierra Leone meegebring het. Internasionale reaksies tot sekuriteitskwessies - veral die sigbaar in Afrika - word deur 'n oormaat van komplekse burgerlike konflikte, wat gelyktydig aandag van die Verenigde Nasies (VN) verg, belas. Hiervolgens is dit moontlik dat PMSMe wel toegerus mag wees om Hoofstuk II-mandate van die VN Handves uit te voer. Die rede hiervoor is dat die PMSMe wel toegerus is om robuuste toepassings funksies te verrig. Dit het veral vorendag gekom gedurende 'n tydperk toe die Weste huiwerig was om by sekuriteitskwessies in te meng. Hoer vlakke van verantwoordbaarheid en oorsig word moontlik meer vereis. Die dienste van PMSMe is voordelig vir vele belanghebbendes. Hierdie sluit die state in waar hul gekontrakteer het, die state waarin hulle optree, die burgers wat hulle beskerm, die winsgewendherd vir aandeelhouers van die PMSMe en die diamant- en oliemaatskappye deur wie hul gekontrakteer mag wees om installasies te beskerm. Die gevolgtrekking van hierdie tesis is dus dat PMSMe 'n vinniger en meer koste-effektiewe opsie vir vredemaking in Afrika bied. Al is die gebruik van PMSMe nie afhanklik van die regulering van die industrie nie, sal die PMSMe-industrie by 'n verhoging in self-regulering in daardie sektore baat vind. Met relevante en meer effektiewe markregulering, kan PMSMe dus as 'n oplossing in Afrika se burgerlike konflik dien. Anders as in die Ballesteros verslag, sal die VN dit moet erken.

Sedan kalla krigets slut har en ny typ av aktör dykt upp i internationella konflikter och krig världen över. Denna aktör är privata företag som i dagsläget erbjuder allt från supplementär logistik till att helt ersätta nationella arméer. Utgångspunkten i denna uppsats är att ta reda på vilka faktorer som har skapat en marknad för dessa företag generellt, samt vilka av dessa faktorer som kan förklara framväxten i Sverige specifikt. I uppsatsen undersöks befintlig forskning kring vad som drivit utvecklingen. Därefter kommer befintlig teori att prövas som förklaringsmodell för expansionen i Sverige. Den befintliga teorin som prövats på Sverige består av sju faktorer beskrivandes politiska och samhälleliga förutsättningar vilka förklarar expansionen. Av dessa återfinns samtliga i Sverige, men genom en analys av deras respektive giltighet i svensk kontext uppstår en mer nyanserad bild, där endast fyra av faktorerna är relevanta som förklaringar. Dessa är en transformation av försvarets fokus och organisation, en politisk trend av privatisering samt ett överflöd av militärt utbildad personal utan sysselsättning. Av dessa är den förstnämnda den starkaste katalysatorn medan den sistnämnda endast i viss mån påverkar den redan pågående expansionen. / Since the end of the Cold War a new phenomenon has shown in international conflict and war, worldwide. This phenomenon is the private companies nowadays offering supplementary logistics, armed troops to the front and everything in between. This essay aims to identify which factors that have contributed to the creating of a market for these companies in general, and which of these that can explain the growth of Swedish companies in particular. In the essay previous research on the topic of privatization of security are examined and thereafter applied onSwedenin order to examine to what extent it can be used to explain the changes inSweden. The existent theory applied onSwedenconsists of seven factors, describing political and social basis, which explain the expansion. All of these are found in Sweden, however, through a further analysis of their individual relevance, a more nuanced result can be seen, whereas only four out of seven are relevant as explanations. These are a transformation in defence focus and organization, a political trend of privatization and a flood of trained unemployed military personnel. The first one of these is the strongest catalyst for expansion while the latter only to a certain degree reinforces the already ongoing process.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) has become an increasingly common feature of contemporary armed conflict. Because of their autonomous contractual status, PMCs have presented governments with problems of accountability on several levels, including violations of international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) standards. This thesis argues that PMCs should be considered to be non-state actors (NSAs), subject to international law from both an International Relations Theory and a Legal Theory perspective. This conclusion is linked to the issue of whether individual PMC employees can be treated as legitimate combatants according to IHL. State practice has not led to a clear understanding of the definition of combatant, a problem which has been compounded by a lack of government policy on the use of PMCs. Using Canadian experience as a case study, the thesis concludes that IHL suggests two options for regularizing the status of PMCs which would both strengthen accountability and uphold the rule of law.

The high levels of crime in South Africa are a popular topic of conversation amongst South Africans. As a result of the high levels of crime in South Africa, many South Africans employ private security companies in order to protect themselves and their property. The opinion exists that these private security costs should be allowed as a deduction against their taxable income. The study investigates certain factors that may influence crime, the private security industry and these companies’ perception on the duties of the South African Police Service. In order to determine private security companies’ perception on the duties of the South African Police Service, a questionnaire was conducted. The results reflected not only that private security companies are more effective and proactive in the prevention of crime, but also that they have a faster reaction time to emergency calls than the South African Police Service. This can lead one to argue that it has become a necessity to incur private security costs in South Africa. It also discusses current South African tax legislation in comparison with international trends. The study concludes whether the deduction of private security costs for the individual against taxable income is allowed in South Africa. AFRIKAANS : Die hoë vlakke van misdaad in Suid-Afrika is ‘n gewilde onderwerp van bespreking onder Suid-Afrikaners. As gevolg van die hoë vlakke van misdaad in Suid-Afrika stel baie Suid- Afrikaners privaat sekuriteitsmaatskappye aan om hulself en hul eiendom te beskerm. Menige Suid-Afrikaners is van mening dat hierdie privaat sekuriteitsuitgawes as ‘n aftrekking teen hul belasbare inkomste toegelaat moet word. Die studie ondersoek sekere faktore wat misdaad kan beinvloed, die privaat sekuriteitsmaatskappy industrie en hierdie maatskappye se opinie van die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens se verantwoordelikhede. ‘n Vraelys is gebruik om privaat sekuriteitsmaatskappye se opinie rakende die verantwoordelikhede van die Suid-Afrikaansie Polisiediens te bepaal. Die resultate dui daarop dat privaat sekuriteitsmaatskappye nie net meer effektief en proaktief is in die voorkoming van misdaad as die Suid-Afrikaanse Polisiediens nie, maar ook dat hulle ‘n vinniger reaksietyd het na ‘n noodoproep ontvang is. Dit kan tot aannames lei dat dit ‘n noodsaaklikheid geword het om privaat sekuriteitsonkostes in Suid-Afrika aan te gaan. Die studie stel ook ondersoek in na huidige Suid-Afrikaanse belastingwetgewing in vergelyking met die internasionale werkswyse en sluit af met die antwoord op die vraag of privaat sekuriteitsuitgawes belastingaftrekbaar is vir Suid-Afrikaanse individue. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Taxation / unrestricted