ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the legal, economic and political conditions that produced the proliferation of private military companies in the twenty-first century. The International Peace Operations Association (IPOA) is the lobbying organization for private military companies. The chapter also examines the capability of the law in regulating transnational flows of violence and capital. Legislation controlling the actions of its citizens to prevent a market in mercenarism protects state sovereignty in international affairs. The mercenary is reconstructed into a corporate structure that provides both legitimacy and opportunity. The Department of Defense issued a protocol delineating policy and procedures regarding contractors accompanying US Armed Forces in October 2005. The protocol was written by Kenneth Krieg, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. Federal prosecutors have not yet used Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA) for any alleged misconduct of contractors operating in Iraq. Finally, the 'violent disregard of international humanitarian law' is seen in the states' reinterpretation of the Geneva Conventions.
