| ID | 165906 |
| Title Proper | Anti-mercenary norm and United Nations’ use of private military and security companies |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Bures, Oldrich ; Oldrich Bures 1 and Jeremy Meyer 1 ; Meyer, Jeremy |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | This article offers an analysis of the influence of the anti-mercenary norm on the United Nations’ use of services provided by private military and security companies (PMSCs). It follows a constructivist approach which focuses on violations of the anti-mercenary norm within the UN system and on the justifications and condemnations of these violations in official UN documents. The findings suggest that while the anti-mercenary norm is no longer puritanical, two key aspects of the norm—the lack of a proper cause and the lack of control—remain influential within the UN system. Although all parts of the UN system nowadays routinely use a wide variety of services of PMSCs and the UN Secretary-General officially sanctioned security outsourcing in 2011, the UN continues to insist that it is only using PMSCs as a last resort, when no other options are available. The continuing need to justify the use of PMSCs’ services suggests that this practice challenges both the long-established identity of the UN as a key anti-mercenary norm entrepreneur and its ontological security. |
| `In' analytical Note | Global Governance Vol. 25, No.1; Apr-Jun 2019: p.77-99 |
| Journal Source | Global Governance Vol: 25 No 1 |
| Key Words | Peacekeeping ; Regulation ; Ontological Security ; Control ; Private Military and Security Companies ; United Nations ; Anti-Mercenary Norm ; Proper Cause |