The Anti-Mercenary Norm and United Nations’ Use of Private Military and Security Companies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6189533 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Oldrich Bures (0000-0003-0714-1036, 1 Metropolitan University Prague Center for Security Studies), Jeremy Meyer (0000-0003-3381-9146, 1 Metropolitan University Prague Center for Security Studies) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 77-99 |
| Publication date | 2019-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Governance A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1075-2846 • E-ISSN: 1942-6720 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/19426720-02501002 |
| OpenAlex | W2939673280 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 5 |
This article offers an analysis of the influence of the anti-mercenary norm on the United Nations’ use of services provided by private military and security companies (PMSCs). It follows a constructivist approach which focuses on violations of the anti-mercenary norm within the UN system and on the justifications and condemnations of these violations in official UN documents. The findings suggest that while the anti-mercenary norm is no longer puritanical, two key aspects of the norm—the lack of a proper cause and the lack of control—remain influential within the UN system. Although all parts of the UN system nowadays routinely use a wide variety of services of PMSCs and the UN Secretary-General officially sanctioned security outsourcing in 2011, the UN continues to insist that it is only using PMSCs as a last resort, when no other options are available. The continuing need to justify the use of PMSCs’ services suggests that this practice challenges both the long-established identity of the UN as a key anti-mercenary norm entrepreneur and its ontological security
Computer security · Law and economics · Outsourcing · Political science · Sociology · Computer Science · Global Peace and Security Dynamics · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Military and Defense Studies · Public Administration
Weak, Politicized, Absent
Conceptualizing private military and security companies
The False Promise of Multi-stakeholder Governance
The Anti-Mercenary Norm and United Nations’ Use of Private Military and Security Companies
Private military and security companies, corporate structure, and levels of violence in Iraq
Managerial capacity in conflict environments
Advancing private security studies
Commentary on Part I of the Montreux Document on Pertinent International Legal Obligations and Good Practices for States Related to Operations of Private Military and Security Companies During Armed Conflict
Private military companies
In the Business of Peace
From ‘Mercenaries’ to ‘Private Security Contractors’
Reframing the anti-mercenary norm
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2026 (8) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 7 |