Private Military Companies and the Outsourcing of War: Re-examining the Political Rationale Towards Peace

By Renan de Souza

The book makes an argument for peace in a reality in which war is the most profitable answer to world leaders that do not care about the needs of people and their realities, instead choosing to outsource war for political gain. In these chapters the author discusses how peace can only be achieved with the egalitarian distribution of power, resources and justice for all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paco e Littera
• Release date: Jun 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9786558408130

Book preview

Private_military_companies_and_the_outsourcing_of_warPrivate_military_companies_and_the_outsourcing_of_warPrivate_military_companies_and_the_outsourcing_of_war

Copyright © 2022 by Paco Editorial

All rights reserved to Paco Editorial. None of this work may be appropriated and stored in a database system or similar process, in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording, etc., without the permission of the publisher and/or the author.

Proofreader: Larissa Codogno

Cover: Larissa Codogno

Cover Images: Kjpargeter; Macrovector

Graphic Project: Leticia Nisihara

Printed Edition: 2022

Digital Edition: 2022

International Cataloging Data in the Publication/Dados Internacionais de Catalogação na Publicação (CIP)

Editorial Board

Profa. Dra. Andrea Domingues (UNIVAS/MG) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Antonio Cesar Galhardi (FATEC-SP) (Lattes)

Profa. Dra. Benedita Cássia Sant’anna (UNESP/ASSIS/SP) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Carlos Bauer (UNINOVE/SP) (Lattes)

Profa. Dra. Cristianne Famer Rocha (UFRGS/RS) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. José Ricardo Caetano Costa (FURG/RS) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Luiz Fernando Gomes (UNISO/SP) (Lattes)

Profa. Dra. Milena Fernandes Oliveira (UNICAMP/SP) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Ricardo André Ferreira Martins (UNICENTRO-PR) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Romualdo Dias (UNESP/RIO CLARO/SP) (Lattes)

Profa. Dra. Thelma Lessa (UFSCAR/SP) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Victor Hugo Veppo Burgardt (UNIPAMPA/RS) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Eraldo Leme Batista (UNIOESTE-PR) (Lattes)

Prof. Dr. Antonio Carlos Giuliani (UNIMEP-Piracicaba-SP) (Lattes)

Paco Editorial

Av. Carlos Salles Bloch, 658

Ed. Altos do Anhangabaú, 2º Andar, Salas 11, 12 e 21

Anhangabaú - Jundiaí-SP - 13208-100

Telefones: 55 11 4521.6315

[e-mail]

www.pacoeditorial.com.br

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to thank God and the Universe for being able to have such incredible experiences after visiting more than 50 countries worldwide, collecting skills and wisdom that are transforming the person I am into a true professional of International Relations.

Secondly, I would like to express my appreciation to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which granted me a Chevening scholarship to study for a master’s degree in International Relations at Goldsmiths, University of London. At the end of this extraordinary year – and one of the most incredible of my life – I can only be thankful to every single person I have met and that crossed my life during this journey, making me grow and become more mature both academically and at a personal level.

Furthermore, I must extend my gratitude to my family, friends, and former managers, who supported and believed in me since the beginning. Without any doubt, I can say that this is just the beginning of my journey. I dream of acting globally to change people’s lives and realities to make the world fairer, accountable, and welcoming to everyone regardless of race, gender, background, or religious belief. The conclusion of my master’s degree, which has broadened my understanding, knowledge, and critical thinking, is precisely the boost I needed to keep going.

To all of you, I would like to express my sincere gratitude!

Therefore, I would like to dedicate this work to all academics, researchers, and scholars, especially those belonging to minorities groups like myself, who are overcoming a variety of barriers to produce cutting-edge scientific work.

If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER SHEET

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

EPIGRAPH

FOREWORDS

INTRODUCTION

1. THE TRANSFORMATION OF WAR AS A FERTILE TERRAIN FOR PMCs

1. International security: a look into the referent object. States or individuals?

2. International Order: rethinking the Post-1945 Order

3. Human security: a new framework of analysis

2. PMCs AS A POTENTIAL THREAT TO THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER

3. BLACKWATER PORTRAYED AS A THREAT TO SECURITY

4. CONCEPTUALISING WAR AND PEACE

5. COMPLEX POLITICAL EMERGENCIES, NEW WARS, STATE AND NON-STATE ACTORS

6. THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE IN A COMPLEX POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION IN AFGHANISTAN

CONCLUSIONS

AFTERWORDS

DISCLAIMER

REFERENCES

END PAGE

FOREWORDS

It is time for peace

There is nothing I love more than an improbable victory for peace. I know what it is like to be the underdog. I know what it is like to have the odds stacked against me. I know what it is like to be written off as a dreamer, out of touch with reality. I even know what it is like to walk into the United Nations feeling that way. When I first addressed the United Nations as the President of Costa Rica, a few decades ago, I was on a mission that many people believed would never succeed. I was there to make the case for a peace agreement I had drafted in response to the violence that was plaguing my region. I took my place before the microphone with the hopes and dreams of millions of Costa Ricans and Central Americans upon my shoulders, but I knew my words would face the opposition of both of the world’s superpowers that were using my region in a proxy war.

The odds were stacked against me, but the Central American Peace Agreement became a reality nonetheless. It faced opposition, but it won the support of many people at the United Nations, of leaders around the world, of ordinary women and men who came to believe in the potential of Central America to solve its problems. The Peace Agreement was finally signed by the presidents of Central America on August 7, 1987. The long-shot hit its target.

Almost thirty years later, I saw another effort for peace beat the odds at the United Nations. For decades, I watched as the unchecked flow of small arms and light weapons into our region, and into almost every country in the developing world, triggered human rights violations around the globe. Even in regions like mine, working hard to keep the peace, these unregulated weapons were destroying millions of lives. That is why, in 1997, along with other Nobel Peace Laureates, I began an effort to establish a comprehensive Arms Trade Treaty, which would prohibit the transfer of arms to States, groups, or individuals, if sufficient reason exists to believe that those arms could be used to violate human rights or International Law.

I was a little older and a lot more experienced, but there is no question: I was the underdog once again. The Arms Trade Treaty was the longest of long shots. It faced the opposition of some of the world’s most powerful countries. I never thought I would see this treaty become a reality in my lifetime. I was astonished and thrilled when, after more than fifteen years of hard work, the Arms Trade Treaty was finally approved at the United Nations, and took effect in 2014. The treaty is the greatest contribution to humanity that my country has made to date, made possible by the collaboration of governments, organizations, and individuals from countries all over the world.

The two proudest moments of my life were both improbable victories for peace – and both of their paths led through the United Nations. Maybe that is why I am so fond of the story behind the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. It, too, was a response to warfare and violence. It, too, was an attempt to find common ground among the diverse interests of multiple nations – and not just the nations of one region, but most of the nations on Earth.

The terrible past events of human history have reminded us, very dramatically, that all of us are vulnerable to human rights violations. We have seen with unprecedented clarity that affronts to human rights are not the concern of an unfortunate few, but rather a universal concern. We have seen that human rights can be threatened not only in a war zone, or in a country devastated by extreme poverty, but also in the developed world, in established democracies, in places that other nations have looked to as an example.

We have seen countries and regions that had crossed over the