Arvanitopoulos / Botsiou The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy Yearbook 2010

1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-3-642-12374-0
Verlag: Springer
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: 1 - PDF Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 144 Seiten, eBook

Reihe: The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy Yearbook Series

2010 marks a turning point for international politics. The impact of the global crisis is reflected in the readiness of both national governments and international organisations to rebuild relations between state and market within a safer regulatory framework. New models of development gained ground during the crisis: investments in new energy technologies, medical research, education, security and employment. In Europe, novel ideas interact with major institutional changes put into effect by the Lisbon Treaty. A wide range of policies, from the field of European security to the problems of migration and from EU enlargement to Euro-American cooperation, are affected by the changes on all these levels. The Constantinos Karamanlis Institute for Democracy Yearbook 2010 addresses vital aspects of the European and international agenda, bringing together prominent scholars and policymakers from a variety of national backgrounds.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Arvanitopoulos, Constantine

Botsiou, Konstantina E.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

European Solidarity: Energy and Security. A Vision for a Common Future.- Europe after the Lisbon Treaty.- Necessary Progress in the Defence of Europe.- Eastern Partnership: The Polish Perspective.- Women’s Participation in Europe’s Social and Political Life.- The Privatisation of Defence and Security: Risks and Opportunities.- The Crisis on the Korean Peninsula: Threats, Prejudices and Solutions.- Greek Foreign Policy: Past, Present and Future Strategies.- The Origins of Greece’s European Policy.- The Greek Economy, 1959–2009: From Association with the EEC to Accession and EMU.- Greek Liberalism in the Twentieth Century: Dilemmas of Research.- Small States in World War II: The Greek Example.

Leseproben

"The Privatisation of Defence and Security: Risks and Opportunities (p. 63-64)

Nikolaos Tzifakis

Introduction

Over the past years, several states and international organisations have increasingly been entrusting private agencies with tasks such as training, restructuring and modernising armies and police forces; gathering and analysing intelligence; securing military communications; operating technologically advanced military systems; providing military transportation and protecting strategic targets; clearing minefields; and interrogating prisoners. Meanwhile, an ever-increasing number of non-governmental organisations, multinational corporations and individuals are turning to private companies for security services.

The contractor enterprises are either private military companies that participate in actions such as military operations, stabilisation and post-conflict reconstruction of societies and security sector reform,1 or private security companies specialising in the provision of assets and personal protection services.2 The use of coercive force by private agencies is not a novelty. The phenomenon is as ancient as warfare itself (Shearer, 1998, p. 69).

The involvement of mercenaries in armed conflicts has been recorded from the times of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece to our days (Singer, 2001/02, p. 190; Fredland, 2004, p. 206). The Westphalian state as the sole agent of the right to use violence is an exception in history, which in fact existed for a considerable amount of time only in the West.3 The process by which sovereign states expanded and established themselves on a global scale (whose key feature was their monopoly in their territory on the legitimate use of force) was essentially accomplished as late as the twentieth century.

However, the transnational and corporate nature of the current private security sector, as opposed to the freelance and unorganised mercenaries of the past, is unprecedented.5 Although the sector of private military and security companies is extremely diverse (encompassing both local, smallsized enterprises and multinational giants listed on international stock exchanges) (Singer 2003; Cilliers, 2002, p. 146), its overall growth since the end of the Cold War is impressive.

The turnover of private security companies alone rose in 2007 to $165 billion. G4S, the largest private security company in the world, operates in more than 110 countries and has more than 585,000 employees. In 2008, G4S had an annual turnover of £6 billion. 6 MPRI, a subsidiary of L-3 Communications specialising in the provision of military training services, operates in the United States and 40 countries overseas.

MPRI officials have bragged about the fact that their company can muster more (retired) generals than the American army actually has in its service (Leander, 2005a, p. 609). In states as different as the United States, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria and India, the number of private security contractors is much higher than the number of employees in the respective state security agencies (Abrahamsen & Williams, 2009, p. 2). An assessment of the activities of private military and security companies would consider both several actions successfully accomplished and important weaknesses and failures."