Privatising Peace: A Corporate Adjunct to United Nations Peacekeeping and Humanitarian Operations

275 Pages·2009·2.501 MB·English

by  Malcolm Hugh Patterson (auth.)

Privatising Peace
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Privatising Peace
A Corporate Adjunct to United Nations
Peacekeeping and Humanitarian
Operations
Malcolm Hugh Patterson
© Malcolm Hugh Patterson 2009
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-22425-4
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First published 2009 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-30922-1 ISBN 978-0-230-24688-1 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230246881
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‘… the world may not be ready to privatise peace.’
– Kofi A. Annan, UN Secretary-General*
‘If you’re not going to use the private sector, who are you
going to use? The only countries that do provide
peace-keeping services are among the poorest countries
in the world, so it’s no small wonder when UN
peacekeeping fails.’
– Doug Brooks, President, International
Peace Operations Association†
*UN Press ReleaseSG/SM/6613/Rev. 1 (26 June 1998). Reproduced consistent with
UN copyright requirements.
†Reproduced with author permission. E-mail communication 19 Sept. 2009.
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Contents
Preface x
Abbreviations, Acronyms and Initialisms xii
1 Introduction 1
1.1 An intractable problem 1
1.2 Chapter themes 7
Notes 10
2 Alternatives to Ad HocSovereign Forces 13
2.1 Introduction 13
2.2 Legions and guard forces: origins and problems 13
2.3 Three historically prominent alternatives to ad hoc 15
forces
2.3.1 A permanent force of rotating states’ units 15
2.3.2 Standby forces 17
2.3.3 A permanent and volunteer UN legion 18
2.4 Regional peacekeeping and the declining power of 22
the UNSC
2.5 A miscellany of other alternatives to ad hocforces 27
2.6 Summary 29
Notes 29
3 From Mercenary to UN Contractor? 39
3.1 Introduction 39
3.2 An historically pervasive means of waging war 40
3.3 Who is a mercenary? Problems of definition and 43
classification
3.4 An unexceptional mercenary: the UN member state 48
3.5 The UN view of non-state mercenarism 52
3.6 A taxonomy of private military, security and related 60
services
3.7 An advocate’s case 63
3.8 Summary 73
Notes 74
4 The Public-Private Security Environment 88
4.1 Introduction 88
vii
viii Contents
4.2 History old and new 89
4.3 The rise of private authority 91
4.4 Corporate interests do not duplicate states’ interests 100
4.5 Some UN issues 104
4.6 Implications arising from recent US policy changes 109
4.7 Moral hazards and the PMSC 110
4.8 The de-stabilising capacity of resistant states 116
4.9 The UN and resistance to change 121
4.10 Summary 125
Notes 125
5 Other Industry Aspects 140
5.1 Introduction 140
5.2 Some contractor issues 141
5.3 An industry association 148
5.3.1 Capacity 148
5.3.2 Regulation 152
5.3.3 Legitimacy 156
5.4 An industry plan 158
5.4.1 Reasons for scepticism 158
5.4.2 US government interests 163
5.5 Six prominent vulnerabilities 167
5.5.1 The occasional indeterminacy of PMSC 167
weaponry
5.5.2 Adherence to international humanitarian norms 168
5.5.3 Dishonest employees and the negligent 170
employer
5.5.4 Problems in political risk assessment 170
5.5.5 The inappropriately violent PMSC 172
5.5.6 Political nepotism and market failure 174
5.6 Summary 175
Notes 176
6 A Modest Proposal 192
6.1 Introduction: solving problems 192
6.2 An adequacy of Charter powers and the new directorate 193
6.3 Discipline and criminal law 194
6.4 Measuring efficacy in the past and (more adeptly) in 200
the future
6.5 A further step: revived trusteeship + contract forces 202
6.6 Five legs to a new UN apparatus 206
6.7 Some criticisms 207
Contents ix
6.8 Summary 209
Notes 209
7 Conclusion 218
7.1 Introduction 218
7.2 A reprise: the Blackwater ploy and a wider problem 218
7.3 The sense in diplomacy 221
7.4 Summary: perception and misperception 223
Notes 225
Appendices
I Proposed Contractor Peacekeeping and Intervention Model 228
II UNDPKO Organisational Chart 2007 229
III DFS Organisational Chart 2007 230
Glossary 231
Bibliography 232
Primary Sources 232
1. Interviewees listed alphabetically 232
2. Public Lectures, Industry Conferences, Debates and 233
Briefings
3. Documents 233
(a) Treaties 233
(b) United Nations Documents 233
(i) Selected General Assembly Resolutions 233
(ii) General Assembly and Security Council 234
Resolutions in Shortened Form
(iii) International Court of Justice Cases 234
(iv) Other Courts and Tribunals 234
(v) Selected Policy Documents, Reports and Manuals 234
(c) Miscellaneous Declarations, Guidelines, Reports and 237
Principles
(d) United States Government Documents 237
(i) Legislation 237
(ii) Cases 237
(iii) Field Manuals, Audits, Directives, Briefings and 237
Reviews
Secondary Sources 238
Selected Books, Articles and Reports 238
Index 253