Utilization of Private Military Companies in the Contemporary International Security Environment

States utilize Private Military Companies (PMCs) as a convenient augmentation of their foreign policy toolbox to achieve specific effects on the International Security Environment (ISE). The differences in application of PMCs depends on the state's political system, rules of law, and the state's leader's perspectives. In the last forty years, PMCs are attributed in almost every military conflict. In some cases, states made a deliberate choice to utilize PMCs. In others, states developed a dependency on the private military and can no longer pursue foreign endeavors without PMCs. After the end of the Cold War, the expectation of peace caused total sequestration of armed forces worldwide, creating a situation where there were more security challenges than uniformed soldiers to respond. States unwilling to mobilize the national armed forces turned to PMCs as a solution. PMCs provide a low-cost, low-risk, and flexible option to expand the state's influence in the ISE while enabling plausible deniability in politically risky affairs and avoiding democratic processes. The United States and Russia are examined to compare and contrast utilization of PMCs in the contemporary ISE.