Private military companies in Africa: A study on the effects of conflict duration
Abstract
Since the 1990s, the use of private military companies (PMCs) has increased in both interstate and intrastate conflict. Despite this, relatively little research describes the relationship between PMCs and the duration of conflict. Building upon previous theoretical arguments, I propose that PMCs influence the duration of civil conflict through both power aggregation and information asymmetries. However, this effect varies depending on whether the client is a government or a rebel group. I find, contrary to previous research, that there is no relationship between the presence of a PMC within a civil conflict and its duration. This finding points to a need for increased research within this topic and the creation of comprehensive data on PMCs.
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- OSU Theses [15752]