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The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis

This master's thesis analyses the roles that private security companies (PSCs) assume during United Nations (UN) peace missions. Following a literary review and contextual development of the PSC industry, this thesis makes use of a qualitative desktop study to examine five UN peace mission case stud...

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Main Author: Feldman, Daniel
Other Authors: Seegers, Annette
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Political Studies 2018
Subjects:
Political Studies
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access_status_str Open Access
author Feldman, Daniel
author2 Seegers, Annette
author_browse Feldman, Daniel
Seegers, Annette
author_facet Seegers, Annette
Feldman, Daniel
author_sort Feldman, Daniel
collection Thesis
description This master's thesis analyses the roles that private security companies (PSCs) assume during United Nations (UN) peace missions. Following a literary review and contextual development of the PSC industry, this thesis makes use of a qualitative desktop study to examine five UN peace mission case studies in Africa in which PSCs were contracted to provide multiple roles for the UN. The case studies include UNAVEM, UNAMSIL, UNMIL, UNAMID, and MONUSCO. Each case study features a historical overview of the country's conflict, the UN mandate-related developments prior to and during the UN peace mission, the roles performed by PSCs in the peace operation, as well as a critical analysis of such PSC involvement. A subsequent discussion on the UNs use of PSCs finds that contracting provides the organisation with cost savings, more efficient operational capabilities, and the evasion of domestic sensitivities with regards to member state involvement in peace missions. The use of contractors, however, does also highlight the UNs vetting deficiencies in terms of the use of illegitimate companies, procurement issues - especially favouritism and corruption, and grave accountability problems associated with criminal prosecution mechanisms and the use of force by PSCs in the field. The thesis concludes that the reliance on contractors impacts the UNs peace mission endeavours in terms of increased militarization, a neo-colonial facet, and a gradual move towards privatized peacekeeping.
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/26882
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:32:56.154Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2018
publishDateRange 2018
publishDateSort 2018
publisher Department of Political Studies
publisherStr Department of Political Studies
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/26882 The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis Feldman, Daniel Seegers, Annette Political Studies This master's thesis analyses the roles that private security companies (PSCs) assume during United Nations (UN) peace missions. Following a literary review and contextual development of the PSC industry, this thesis makes use of a qualitative desktop study to examine five UN peace mission case studies in Africa in which PSCs were contracted to provide multiple roles for the UN. The case studies include UNAVEM, UNAMSIL, UNMIL, UNAMID, and MONUSCO. Each case study features a historical overview of the country's conflict, the UN mandate-related developments prior to and during the UN peace mission, the roles performed by PSCs in the peace operation, as well as a critical analysis of such PSC involvement. A subsequent discussion on the UNs use of PSCs finds that contracting provides the organisation with cost savings, more efficient operational capabilities, and the evasion of domestic sensitivities with regards to member state involvement in peace missions. The use of contractors, however, does also highlight the UNs vetting deficiencies in terms of the use of illegitimate companies, procurement issues - especially favouritism and corruption, and grave accountability problems associated with criminal prosecution mechanisms and the use of force by PSCs in the field. The thesis concludes that the reliance on contractors impacts the UNs peace mission endeavours in terms of increased militarization, a neo-colonial facet, and a gradual move towards privatized peacekeeping. 2018-01-23T07:57:05Z 2018-01-23T07:57:05Z 2017 Master Thesis Masters MSocSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26882 eng application/pdf Department of Political Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Political Studies
Feldman, Daniel
The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis
thesis_degree_str Master's
title The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis
title_full The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis
title_fullStr The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis
title_full_unstemmed The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis
title_short The roles and functions of private security companies in UN Peace Missions - a critical analysis
title_sort roles and functions of private security companies in un peace missions a critical analysis
topic Political Studies
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26882
work_keys_str_mv AT feldmandaniel therolesandfunctionsofprivatesecuritycompaniesinunpeacemissionsacriticalanalysis
AT feldmandaniel rolesandfunctionsofprivatesecuritycompaniesinunpeacemissionsacriticalanalysis

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