Private Military Companies in the Modern US Political Discourse

Stanislav Mironov
MGIMO School of Governance and Politics;

Gleb Mishutin
MGIMO School of Governance and Politics;

Artyom Tsybukov
MGIMO School of Governance and Politics

Abstract

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in the phenomenon of private military companies in politics. This article focuses on the role of private military companies (PMC) in American politics. Private military companies have become a significant part of foreign policy, especially in the USA. Their history stems from mercenaries who helped different states to achieve their goals in conflicts. The results suggest that in the modern world, due to military lobby and various hybrid conflicts, private military companies have become legitimated as a tool for powerful states[1]. Their role in the US state affairs is increasing for a number of reasons: for instance, big military budget, everlasting conflict in Middle East and the activity of geopolitical rivals – Russia and China, which have their own PMCs.  The article highlights that the use of PMCs is regarded as a good solution both by American politicians and special services such as the CIA that cooperate with PMCs in order to conduct operations quickly and without exhausting approval procedures in Congress. The influence of PMCs is growing rapidly with their increasing incomes and the demand for their services. The article explains that potentially this will create political collision due to American lobbying systems and private business interests of some political actors. On this basis, the article concludes that the presence of PMC’s in the US policy will increase, and that will change the entire political climate.

Keywords: private military companies, political discourse, lobbyism, mercenaries, army, conflicts.

Introduction

Private military companies play a significant role in the foreign policy of Western countries, especially in the US foreign policy. With their help, states protect their national interests[2]. With the collapse of the colonial system, European countries used mercenaries as an instrument of foreign policy, giving power to countries who supported European leaders. Mercenaries at that time were a prototype of today's private military companies that have a wider range of services.

Analysis of the role of PMCs in US foreign policy

The evolution of mercenary activity contributed to the legitimization of this phenomenon, as well as to the emergence of commercial structures similar to mercenary armies, and, what is more, to the formation of private military security companies.

With the end of the Cold War and the extinction of the "domino effect" threat, private military companies were used to establish control and protection of resources in logistics and consulting. Since the fight against communism was no longer relevant, over time the range of services of private military companies expanded significantly, not limited to the military security sphere[3].

In the 1990s, Western countries became particularly interested in promoting their interests in conflicts in the Balkans and Africa. Private military companies received a large number of government orders, during the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), which helped them to become entire multinational corporations, to significantly increase capital and to attract professional lobbyists to promote their economic interests in the U.S. government structures.

Thanks to the strong military lobby in the United States, the country's military budget is unlikely to decrease in the years ahead, and in modern political realities, such a step threatens to weaken the U.S. position on the global arena, followed by displacement from various regions, in particular from the Middle East and Africa, where private military companies from China and the Russian Federation are already increasing their presence. Internal political problems do not allow the U.S. president to act decisively militarily at this stage, even despite the high pressure of military lobbyists.

Over the past decade, U.S. politics has become more mobile and the American establishment has begun to adapt to the current situation both in the foreign and domestic political arenas. The internal strife of the leading political groups directly affects the American presence in the countries of the Middle East, as well as in other regions of the world remote from the United States. The role of private companies in American politics is quite high, especially when it comes to international conglomerates, whose influence in the country is incredibly large, and their presence in the American economy has been estimated for several decades[4].

Private military companies were used even periodically instead of the U.S. armed forces to conduct secret military policy out of the sight of Congress and the public[5]. Private military companies played an important role in the "nation-building" in South Vietnam and grew significantly over the following decades. Among more recent examples there are Civil Air Transport and Air America, the CIA's secret paramilitary aviation unit from 1946 to 1976, as well as the use of Southern Air Transport to deliver weapons to Nicaragua in the Iran-Contra affair.

The findings of the research

The article finds that mercenary armies helped metropolises to keep their former colonies in their spheres of influence[6]. Also, mercenaries played a significant role in the bipolar world, many conflicts were resolved with their help. The fight against communism was well funded by the United States, that was afraid of the "domino effect" and the loss of influence over any of the countries that had not yet joined the communist camp. The results indicate that mercenary activity was considered by Western countries as a tool to combat the communist movements in third world countries. Thus, the use of mercenaries was very popular during the Cold War.

3. CONCLUSIONS

The article concludes that, private military companies play a significant role in the foreign policy of Western powers. With their help, states protect their national interests. The American establishment actively uses the services of private military companies, which allows this sector to expand rapidly. The US government is interested in these services because the situation in the Middle East is still not stable and gives rise to further conflicts, which is beneficial for the private military sector.

REFERENCES

1. Privatizing War. URL: https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/silver.htm. 1997
2. Privatizing Combat, the New World Order. URL: http://www.publicintegrity.org/2002/10/28/5678/privatizing-combat-new-world-order. 2002
3. 'Private military company: A legitimate international entity within modern conflict' By major s. Goddard, Australia B.A., University of New South Wales, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.2001
4. Scahill J.Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. Nation Books, 2007
5. P.W.Singer. Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry. Cornell University Press, March 2004. ISBN 0-8014-8915-6
6. How American lobbyist fuel on foreign conflicts – The Washington Post. URL: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/02/06/armed-rebel-groups-lobby-dc-just-like-governments-how-does-that-influence-us-policy/