MERCENARIES AND PMC/PMSC IN CONTEMPORARY ARMED CONFLICTS

Ecaterina Mațoi, PhD

Middle East Political and Economic Institute, Bucharest

 

Course description: This course is designed for anyone interested by the nature of their profession in the evolution of the phenomenon of private military and security companies and their use as well as that of mercenaries in contemporary conflicts. Some experts see the use of military contractors as an „emerging threat”, such as Sean McFate, while others see the use of PMC/MPSC as an option that is appealing to different state or non-state entities through its “lack of accountability which is the main selling point” when it comes to interventions in various theatres of operations. Therefore, the main aim of this course is to familiarize participants with the evolution of the status of mercenaries throughout history, with the emergence and establishment of private military companies as an appealing option to the use of conventional forces in different conflicts for various entities. The lecturer also expects that at the end of the course, participants will be able to differentiate between members of a private military company and mercenaries, as well as to possess the basic knowledge of the international law governing the existence of such companies and the status of mercenaries in contemporary conflicts.

The course takes place online, in English language via Zoom platform, once a week, in a time slot agreed by the lecturer with the attendees.

Course: 1 session /week, 2 hours/session

Session 1:

Overview of course structure

Collection of attendees expected topics and preliminary questions related to the topic

Selection of independent research projects by attendees and establishment of presentation schedule

Structure of each session (courses 2 – 11):

Presentation of short assignments by course attendees: 20 minutes

Interactive presentation of subjects: 80 minutes

Final Q&A, remarks: 20 minutes

Examination (12th session):

The scoring of participants will be done as follows: 25% active participation during the 10 sessions, meaning the presentation of at least 8 out of 10 points of view on the previously taught topics and 75% from the submission of a written paper, or in the form of a power point presentation of a topic agreed in the first session with the lecturer. Please note that regardless of the form of research submission – word or PPT, it will be presented in plenary session, which may exceed 2 hours.

 

Topics

1. Introduction and overview of the course. Mercenary vs PMC/PMSC: links and differences

2. Historical outlook – part 1

3. Historical outlook – part 2

4. Geneva convention on mercenaries and its impact on the battlefield

5. Major conflicts since the foundation of United Nations and use of mercenaries in 20th century: The privatization of War

6. War on Terror: terminology, innovations in warfare approach, externalization of army’s support

7. Modern mercenaries between neo-liberal privatization wave and evolution of mercenary activity (warfare evolution: military and non-military, privatizations in various fields – utilities, space travel, etc. – of society as basis for military privatizations or own evolution)

8. Anglo-American mercenaries’: a model for other military powers? (Analysis of France, Russia, China, UAE, India PMC/PMSC activities) Part 1

9. Anglo-American mercenaries’: a model for other military powers? (Analysis of France, Russia, China, UAE PMC/PMSC activities) Part 2

10. Africa as top client for PMC/PMSC services

11. Challenges related in future conflicts: is mercenary activity a temporary exception or a norm?

12. Final examination and review of course results