Turning the tides of war: The impact of private military and security companies on Nigeria’s counterinsurgency against Boko Haram

Since the 2003 war in Iraq, private military and security companies (PMSCs) have become increasingly legitimate actors in modern conflicts. Despite this normative shift, rumours in March 2015 regarding the use of South African mercenaries in Nigeria to combat Boko Haram insurgents caused an international outrage, while the Nigerian government remained nonchalantly silent on the matter. This article investigates the impact of mercenaries on the conflict in the last six months of the Jonathan government. Using primary and secondary qualitative research, it assesses the role that PMSCs played in Nigeria’s counterinsurgency strategy, along with the ensuing reaction of international and local media to the outsourcing of violence to foreign companies. The article concludes that – notwithstanding the improved image of PMSCs in the world, and the actual impact of the contractors on the Nigerian counterinsurgency effort – the stigma of mercenaries continues to plague the industry, particularly on the African continent.     

From combat to non-combat action

This paper examines the rationale and centrality of private military and security companies (PMSCs) in humanitarian assistance operations in Sudan, asking why PMSCs are involved in humanitarian assistance operations in Sudan and what the principles underlying their activities are. To answer this question, the paper draws attention to the link between humanitarian crises and PMSC interventions. Where there is no meaningful alternative intervention, undergirded by humanitarian concerns that are also profit driven, PMSCs come in to provide the needed services. The protracted and complicated internal armed conflicts in Sudan, which have lasted for over two decades, have produced as many as 4,8 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) – the single largest number in the world. The kind of humanitarian assistance operations provided by PMSCs in Sudan have become critical to the provision of much-needed services which were inadequately provided by governmental authorities at both unilateral and multilateral levels. This paper argues that the humanitarian crises in Sudan created a regime that permits humanitarian assistance operations by both state and non-state actors.     

Twittering for talent: Private military and security companies between business and military branding

Private military and security companies (PMSCs) play an increasingly important role in the provision of security-related services. In their attempts to win new clients and find suitable personnel, they take on different identities by presenting themselves as conventional businesses, military actors, and humanitarians. In this article, we examine how PMSCs deploy these identities when they recruit new personnel through social media. Our computer-assisted content analysis of Twitter messages posted by two major United States-based companies—CACI and DynCorp International—shows that while both PMSCs amplify their business and military identities to attract the most talented personnel, they construct and communicate these identities in different ways with CACI branding itself as a sophisticated, modern, and patriotic business and DynCorp as a home-grown, traditional military provider. In addition, our analysis lends force to scholars suggesting that state militaries and the private security sector compete increasingly for prospective employees using similar strategies.     

Beyond the state: reconceptualising African security in the 21st century

Confronted with myriad security challenges, African states and the much-vaunted peace and security architecture of the African Union (AU) has proven not to be up to the challenge. Indeed, this is implicitly acknowledged by the AU itself if one considers the creation of such security structures as the African Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), which exists outside its peace and security architecture. This paper argues for a radical rethink of security structures on the African continent – one in which state structures of security coexist with newer forms of security actors, including private military companies (PMCs), community movements and the business sector. Whilst this shift in security actors is already happening on the ground, policymakers need to embrace this new reality.     

Bridging the Gap: Mobilisation Constraints and Contractor Support to US and UK Military Operations

The increasing use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) has attracted considerable scholarly attention due to its corrosive effects on US democracy. Drawing on neoclassical realism, this article provides a comparative dimension to the study of the political drivers of military privatisation by analysing contractor support to US and UK operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Domestic political constraints have shaped both US and UK response to the need for more boots on the ground, increasing the propensity to use contractors as a force multiplier in spite of their problematic impact on military effectiveness.     

From the sociology of the (military) profession to the sociology of (security) expertise: the case of European national defence universities

Few would disagree that European militaries have experienced dramatic changes since the end of the Cold War. Much of the discussion on these changes to date has referred to the concept of professionalism. However, this approach became outdated as professions in post-industrialist societies entered a state of crisis as a result of growing competition from a variety of competitors. The present study adapts a new framework from the sociology of knowledge literature – sociology of expertise – into one, sociology of security expertise, which is suitable for study of contemporary armed forces. Its utility is demonstrated through analysis of five European professional military education institutions. The analysis shows that European military organisations are transiting, albeit in various degrees, from one form of social organisation of military knowledge production – associated with the military education model common to traditional military colleges – toward another, which is related to the military education model of national defence universities. Hence it is highly probable that European military organisations lose, either voluntary or unintentionally, their professional character and can no longer be unquestionably assumed to be military professions. Hence, they should be analysed hereafter using the sociology of security expertise framework.     

Measuring Military Professionalism in Partner Nations: Guidance for Security Assistance Officials

The U.S. spends billions of dollars in its security cooperation program to develop “professional, accountable, and capable security forces” in other nations, part of a grand strategy to improve global stability and counter violent extremism. Despite its great investment in professionalizing foreign militaries, however, the U.S. has no functional definition of military professionalism – a term that until now has been considered too vague and multi-faceted to operationalize. In this article, the author seeks to remedy this oversight, drawing from twenty years of security cooperation fieldwork in Latin America and Africa, as well as a vigorous literature review, to define four important components of military professionalism: (1) formal military education and vocational training, (2) military subordination to elected civilian officials, (3) knowledge and practice of the law of armed conflict and human rights law, and (4) a clearly established program of professional military ethics. This article provides guidelines for U.S. and European officials who work with partner nations to develop more professional military forces and, in particular, for officials managing security assistance programs with developing countries.     

试析世博安保中的军事“软实力”运用

世博会的圆满召开，不仅需要强大的军事“硬实力”作后盾，也需要军事“软实力”作支撑。本文从军事“软实力”的基本概念入手，将其分解为感化认同力、形象吸引力、心理威慑力等三个子要素；从各要素出发，以完成世博安保任务为着眼点，提出加强军事“软实力”的具体思路。     

Towards the revision of the 1977 Organisation of African Unity/African Union Convention on the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa

The revision of the 1977 Organisation of African Unity's Convention on the Elimination of Mercenarism in Africa (Mercenary Convention) is now long overdue. The existence of the Mercenary Convention has over the years failed to eliminate mercenarism in Africa, among others as a result of the manner in which it defines a ‘mercenary’. The problem is exacerbated by the rapid growth of the private security sector in the form of the private military/security company (PMSC), which to a large extent arguably represents a new form of ‘mercenary’ outfit that is technically not covered by the Mercenary Convention. Because the Mercenary Convention was adopted during a different epoch in African history there is now a need to take stock of its successes and failures and determine how it can best be revised to address the new security challenges in Africa. In this contribution the need for the revision of the Mercenary Convention is discussed. Given the difficulties and challenges presented by the Mercenary Convention, the contribution advocates the drafting of two conventions, one focusing on the regulation of PMSCs and the other focusing on the elimination of mercenarism in Africa.     

当代革命军人核心价值观在警卫部队的实践

实践当代革命军人核心价值观是当前公安警卫部队思想政治建设的根本任务。正确把握当代革命军人核心价值观的科学内涵及其在警卫部队的具体表现，坚持“以人为本”、“和谐文化”、“依法治军”和“长效机制”的理念，对警卫部队实践当代革命军人核心价值观具有重要意义。     

经济视野的新时期军事安全战略

经济全球化深刻影响和改变了世界经济、政治、军事安全形势,促使我们探索新时期的国家军事安全战略。本文试图由经济视角透视新时期军事安全战略,简要分析了经济全球化背景下我国军事安全面临的挑战,强调经济安全是新时期军事安全战略的立足点和重要战略目标,并探讨了经济软实力作为非战争军事斗争方式的运用及经济全球化影响下的新时期军事安全战略的特征。     

加强部队资金安全管理之我见

为提高资金安全管理与防范能力,必须从加强人员管理、实行合理分工、加强银行账户管理、严格库存现金限额、管好财务印鉴及严格票据管理等方面采取相应措施,以确保部队资金安全、规范有序运行。     

军用安全模型扩展及其应用

在分析基于格理论的信息流控制军用安全模型在实际应用中存在的不足的基础上,从安全类定义和信息流控制策略两个方面对原模型进行了理论扩展和安全性分析.扩展模型安全类在作为对象和主体时具有相同的表达方式,以及在保持原模型信息流关系情况下,允许同职权等级用户交流他们共知的信息,以及高职权等级用户访问低职权等级用户他们之间共知的信息.以数字文档安全管理系统为例对扩展模型应用进行了描述.实例表明扩展模型更适合实际系统对信息流控制的要求.     

公安现役部队遂行非战争军事行动训练规律

公安现役部队遂行非战争军事行动训练规律,是指客观存在于部队训练诸要素之间的本质的必然联系.其主要包括：任务牵引、理论先导、科技强训、以人为本、训战结合规律.认识部队军事训练规律、遵循军事训练规律,对于加强公安现役部队军事训练工作,提高部队军事训练盾量,不断推动部队军事训练发展,具有重要的现实意义.     

军事院校推动国家安全教育研究

提出互联网+时代军队院校面临与军队新型作战能力培养有关的国家安全时代课题,从整合新媒体网络资源、依托校园文化平台、构建国家安全教育体系三方面进行了对策分析,重点探索与新军事变革密切相关的"文化安全、军事话语传播、地缘政治"等议题,以学术活动的顶层设计将国家安全教育融入军事院校学员具有中国特色的军事理论创新。     

‘Blackmailing the army’ – ‘Strategic Military Refusal’ as policy and doctrine enforcement: the formation of a new security agent

The study shows how ‘strategic military refusal’ in Israel developed as a rational and institutional means to influence security policies. As opposed to the perspective that sees military refusal as a spontaneous individual act, the study illustrates how organizations operate to distribute military refusal in order to pressure decision-makers to change their military policies. This strategy has proven to be effective when the military is involved with groups that threaten it with refusal – which threatens the military's operational ability and its official and apolitical image. These include soldiers whose civilian authorities, rather than their military commanders, are perceived as an epistemic authority regarding security issues. The case study refers to the impact of strategic military refusal in Israel on security policies and the military doctrine. This was influenced by leftist groups, which, although they belonged to the parliamentary opposition, had dominant presence in the military ranks. Furthermore, the study examines the effect of the use of strategic military refusal on the model of military recruitment.     

以“贴近纳新”理念改进 任职教育军事专业课教法的几点思考

深化以任职教育为主体的教学方法改革，是顺应当前武警部队职能任务多样化的必然要求。任职教育适应岗位任职能力的需要必须注重加强军事专业课教学方法的改革与探索。“贴近纳新”把贴近职能需要纳入教学理念、贴近任职实际纳入组教模式、贴近岗位实用纳入课题施教为着眼点，旨在适应任职教育岗位任职能力培养的需要。     

Security gradient and national defense – the optimal choice between a draft army and a professional army

The earlier work on the optimal design of the national security has focused on the opportunity cost of the draft in terms of foregone human capital formation. The current paper introduces the national security into the welfare analysis missing from the earlier work. This creates a trade-off between the private goods and the security as a public good in the social cost–benefit analysis. There are three major results. First, and arising from the intergenerational interaction, it is optimal to introduce a pay to the young generation when in duty even by resorting to a distortive tax. Second, when optimizing the size of the army, the optimal choice between the draft army and the professional army depends on the risk class of the country. A security gradient arises. Third, the choice is linked to the size and the quality of the reserve generated by the two approaches.     

Exporting professionalism: US efforts to reform the armed forces in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, 1916–1933

Why did the United States, a country notorious for supporting coups and military dictatorships in Latin America during the Cold War, seek to depoliticize security forces in the Caribbean basin during the early twentieth century? Drawing from primary sources, I argue that this emphasis on military non-partisanship abroad stemmed from Progressive Era reforms popular at home. These reforms, which stressed bureaucratic efficiency via nonpartisan expertise, had become institutionalized within the US military and State Department and then channelled into the imperial administration of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The State Department and Marine Corps attempted to replace local partisan armies with the kind of professional, nonpartisan armed forces that the US's own military had come to exemplify. That these civil-military reform efforts ultimately backfired should serve as a reminder of the difficulties inherent in using military interventions to transform coercive apparatuses and their societies.     

浅谈公安现役院校教育改革与学员个性发展

随着公安教育改革的不断深入，注重学员个性发展已成为公安教育改革的热点问题。公安现役院校学员个性化发展应从优化人才培养方案、创新管理体制、强化学员自主学习能力等方面进行探讨，以促进学员个性发展。