PMSCs have been used in every peace process since 1990, and reliance on them is increasing as peace operations themselves become more complex. This book provides a fundamental basis for the emerging debate on the use of private military and security companies in this context.

It explains key issues such as whether their use conforms to the principles of peacekeeping, summarizes the implications of the status of private contractors as combatants under international humanitarian law and identifies possible problems in the detention of States and international organizations responsible for their illegal actions. This book, as a message of discussion for greater transparency, is called to enrich the debate to ensure that lawyers and international policymakers raise the right questions and take the necessary steps so that States and international organizations respect the law when seeking to maintain peace more and more.

A privatized world.