Dogs of peace: a potential role for private military companies in peace implementation

Scholars and practitioners generally agree that one of the keys to effective implementation of peace settlements is the provision of strong third party security guarantees.1 The United Nations (UN) has been largely ineffective at this task and great powers who could be effective are often reluctant to act when national interests are not at stake. This paper argues that Private Military Companies (PMCs) may be able to do the job more effectively than the traditional blue helmets.2 This paper addresses two important questions about the potential role of Private Military Companies in peace implementation.