Private Military Firms: On the New Character of Warfare in the Global World
The today’s world faces unbelievably rapid changes occurring in the main spheres of social life. The changing of the attitudes towards military conflicts triggers the technological effort to develop modern means of combat. The way a means of warfare is to be used in action depends largely on the objectives of waging war as emphasized by F. Heisbourg. The orientation system developed for centuries changes, however, and the traditional views on war are subject to criticism. According to M. van Creveld, a new era of the so-called “low intensity wars” has started. In it, wars develop slowly and “smolder” with little or no spectacular outbursts whatsoever. The place politics used to occupy in Clausewitz’s approach has been taken by the war itself as described by van Creveld. From the beginning of the 90’s within the sector so far reserved exclusively for the military forces of individual states, one can notice the growing participation of private legal entities and the governments’ growing interest in the services offered by private military entrepreneurs. It is assumed that the private military enterprise operates at present for the sake of the strengthening of public institutions. Can we consider the official food and weapons supply and other services offered by non-state organizations to be forms of military action? The contribution of private companies to warfare stirs much controversy.
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