Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 04/2011

Private Military Companies in Counter-insurgency Strategy

Christa Moesgaard, Stine Heiselberg

March 2011

Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract

Military capacity is under pressure. It is increasingly restrained by financial restrictions, budget cuts and declining birth rates while at the same time the number of conflicts and demand for security are rising. Private military companies take over some of the burden, relieving soldiers from some of the tasks. For that reason the industry of private military and private military security is booming.