Normalization of mercenary-like private military and security companies: the need for re-securitization of regulation

Sudden proliferation of contractors in armed conflict and post-conflict situations and severe incidents in the first decade of this century drove to securitization of their regulation. Accomplishments included establishment of international principles and national regulations that improved contracting processes of Western governments and the practices of these contractors. The appearance of Russian-affiliated mercenary-like entities and assertions of their moral equivalence to western private military and security companies (PMSCs) threaten the outcome of the securitization effort. Further, the Russian model of mercenary-like entities may proliferate, propping up totalitarian governments and destabilizing at-risk democracies. We argue that re-securitization is necessary to safeguard the current progress in limiting the internationally accepted governmental use of PMSCs in military operations. This re-securitization must include addressing vocabulary and reviewing existing legal obligations regarding combat provider companies to determine applicability of existing law and make recommendations for good practices to set ordinary regulatory processes back on track.