Abstract

URUENA SANCHEZ, Mario Iván. THE PERCEPTION OF POLITICAL ELITES AND THE PREDILECTION FOR PRIVATE FORMS OF VIOLENCE: FROM MERCENARIES TO MILITARY PRIVATE SECURITY COMPANIES. rev.relac.int.estrateg.segur. [online]. 2017, vol.12, n.2, pp.67-89. ISSN 1909-3063.  https://doi.org/10.18359/ries.2742.

This article starts with the following question: What factors have determined the predilection of political elites for the private forms of violence throughout history? The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of economic, political, and strategic-military factors on the predilection of these elites for the alternation of private and public forms of violence. In order to fulfill this objective, a documentary analysis will be combined with the historical representations from the qualitative method, which is coherent with a constructivist theoretical approach. The conclusion reached is that the decision-making of political elites is versatile enough to monopolize or delegate the administration of massive means of coercion. This versatility has to do with combining both defensive and offensive calculations to achieve their class interests.

Keywords : Private military security companies; mercenarism; security privatization.

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