Privatization of Security

Since the 1990s, the use by the US and UK of private military companies (PMCs) to promote their political and economic interests in Africa has become an integral part of the military-political activities of these global powers. Currently, Western PMCs operate in almost all Africa’s states and regions, engaged – along with “peacebuilding” – in providing military and related services to African governments, TNCs, NGOs and other organizations. The role of private military and security structures in Africa is attracting increasing attention from politicians and researchers, perhaps due to the growing activity of Russian and Chinese PMCs. This is not surprising: in the 2010s – 2020s, private military companies, at least the largest of them, have evolved from commercial organizations into effective instruments for promoting and protecting political and economic interests of their countries of origin. However, their activities often have a destabilizing effect on the situation in the areas of their deployment. The nature of the actions of American and British PMCs in Africa remains ambiguous. Indeed, it would be unfair to belittle their merits as auxiliary forces in UN missions and the importance of the work they do in logistics and technical support for peacekeeping operations, mine clearance, construction, escort of humanitarian convoys, etc. At the same time, a comprehensive analysis of the activities of Western PMCs on the African continent demonstrates that the tasks and results of their work do not always correspond to the interests of Africans and do not justify the hopes of the latter for achieving stability

Political science · Global Peace and Security Dynamics