The Rise of the Private Military and Security Industry

... wide range of state functions, the growth of private military and security companies (PMSCs) was fueled by an emerging international context characterized by a combination... ... command. Due to these characteristics, PMSC personnel have often been described as mere mercenaries, an accusation that the companies themselves vehemently deny; understandably... ... like Executive Outcomes in the Angolan civil war during the early 1990’s and Blackwater in Iraq, the term “security company” became dominant among PMSCs...