摘要：Since the end of the Cold War the outsourcing of military and security functions to private security contractors (PSCs) has reached unprecedented levels in armed conflicts. In a "world that needs security", the private security industry is one of the "fastest growing sectors of the economy worldwide", estimated in 2005 to be worth one hundred billion US dollars a year. This rise of the private security industry should come as no surprise at a time when more than six million highly skilled soldiers were facing demobilisation, and enormous stocks of weapons had fallen into private hands. Not even the stigma attached to labels like "mercenary", "soldier of fortune" or "dogs of war" could quell the growing demand for PSCs to provide a wide spectrum of services, ranging from the non-contentious to those having "direct lethal consequence". While they "tend not to openly advertise their more combat-like services" PSCs are clearly not "just running the soup kitchens". Their clientele includes states; ruthless dictators; respected private corporations; drug cartels; rebel forces; international and regional inter-governmental organisations"; humanitarian non-governmental organisations; movie directors; and defence lawyers.
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