Mercenaries are not the caricatures depicted in the movies. They are complex people, like everyone else. It`s true that some seek the lifestyle because they want to become villains, but most don`t. When I was in the field, I encountered loaner weapons with all sorts of stories: some wanted adventure, some needed a paycheck, many were more comfortable with war than peace, some wanted to help others (amazing but true), and many simply didn`t have a life plan. The Central Africa-based African Wildlife Defence Force organization hires former soldiers and law enforcement officials to protect national parks and private wildlife farms in Africa. Applicants must complete additional training to become parking attendants. These are also known as Private Ranger Contractors or PRC. The rise of private underground warfare in the middle of the century led to Geneva Protocols I and II in 1977, which banned mercenaries. The main objection is that they were stateless warriors, fighting for money rather than national ideology.

The most widely used definition of mercenary in international law derives from article 47 of Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions, which states: The use and recruitment of mercenaries is prohibited by law by the 1989 International Convention against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries. War quickly became an exclusively state affair, waged by national armies, and it became “conventional warfare.” This is the only type of conflict known to Carl von Clausewitz, and it places states at the center of everything. Only they can wage war, make international law and govern. The Westphalian Order spread throughout the world thanks to European colonization, and today we have internalized it as timeless and universal, even though it is less than 400 years old. In some cases, these indigenous mercenary groups restored order, but undermined the very institutions the Americans wanted to build—a public police, a national army, provincial administrations—elements of a Westphalian state. For example, Commando Security is a company that escorts convoys westward between Kandahar and Helmand province. Ruhullah, the head of the company, is suspected of collaborating with the Taliban, like most of his colleagues. According to an Interior Ministry official, the “rule seems to be, if the attack is small, then crush it. But if the Taliban`s presence is too big to collapse, make a deal. The corruption of the enemy, however, does not eliminate the problem and perhaps makes it worse. Afghan officials believe another company called Watan Risk Management is secretly paying the Taliban to attack North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) convoys to keep private military companies in business.

Supply can generate its own demand in a free market for violence. Some contractors have played an advisory role that helps train local military personnel to fight more effectively rather than intervene directly. Much of the peacekeeping training that Western governments have provided to African militaries has been provided by private companies, and with the growing lack of Western military support for international peacekeeping operations, the private sector has often been used to provide services to Haiti`s peace and stability operations in Darfur. The mercenaries did not die out, but were driven underground. Lone soldiers of fortune shuttled between geopolitical hotspots and were secretly hired by rebel groups, weak governments, multinationals and states. Decolonization after World War II provided rich opportunities for these private warriors, especially in Africa. Some of their exploits are captured in novels and films. Fiction may be a surer way to tell the truth than non-fiction books when it comes to clandestine activities.14 The document aims to address substantive legal concerns such as the status of GSP personnel under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, individual liability for misconduct in various jurisdictions, and the duty of authorities to monitor the actions of PGCs and examine them for possible acts.

Reprehensible. Tackle. It also highlights the responsibilities of three types of States: States Parties (countries that hire PMCs, also known as “recruiting States”), territorial States (countries in whose territory PMCs operate, also known as “host States”) and States of origin (countries where PMCs are located, also known as “exporting States”). The United States ended its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For every U.S. soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan, there was at least one contractor — a ratio of 1:1 or more. At the height of these wars, entrepreneurs made up more than 50 percent of the United States. Force structure in Iraq and 70% in Afghanistan. In comparison, only 10% of troops were engaged during the Second World War.21 Most contractors were unarmed and performed harmless tasks such as cooking food or repairing trucks. About 15 percent were mercenaries, but don`t be fooled by the small number.22 The failure of private violence has an outsized strategic impact, as Nisour Square shows, and that 15 percent was enough to revive mercenaries around the world.