Volume 5 Number 6 | ISS Africa

The text analyzes the emergence of private security companies (PSCs) like Executive Outcomes (EO) in Africa, arguing that they fill a security vacuum left by the failure of the UN and regional organizations. While criticizing PSCs for lacking international mandates and potentially infringing on human rights, the authors suggest that in cases like Angola and Sierra Leone, these actors provided a 'lesser of two evils' by preventing total state collapse and facilitating peace negotiations through the seizure of key financial targets. The document concludes that the trend of privatized peace enforcement reflects broader state weakness and requires greater international vigilance and legal frameworks to curb abuses.

• Private security companies (PSCs) such as Executive Outcomes (EO), Military Professional Resources Inc. (MPRI), and the Gurkha Support Group (GSG) have filled a security vacuum in Africa caused by the retrenchment of superpowers, the failure of United Nations peace enforcement, and the limited capacity of regional organizations.
• In Angola and Sierra Leone, Executive Outcomes is credited with creating conditions conducive to peace by stabilizing regions and recapturing financial targets—specifically diamonds and oil in Angola, and diamonds and rutile in Sierra Leone—which deprived rebel groups like UNITA and the RUF of resources.
• PSCs operate without the constraints of internationally legitimized mandates or strict Rules of Engagement, which allows them to act more robustly than peacekeeping forces but increases the risk of human rights abuses.
• While the use of private actors to restore stability is viewed as morally repugnant, it is presented as a realist 'lesser of two evils' compared to total state collapse and anarchy in the face of international indifference.

APA

Cilliers, J., & Dietrich, C. (n.d.). Volume 5 Number 6 | ISS Africa. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/african-security-review/volume-5-number-6

Chicago

Cilliers, Jakkie, and Christian Dietrich. Volume 5 Number 6 | ISS Africa. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/african-security-review/volume-5-number-6.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cilliers |first1=Jakkie |last2=Dietrich |first2=Christian |title=Volume 5 Number 6 | ISS Africa |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/african-security-review/volume-5-number-6 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cilliersndvolume, author = {Cilliers, Jakkie and Dietrich, Christian}, title = {{Volume 5 Number 6 | ISS Africa}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/african-security-review/volume-5-number-6}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }