Mariana Mora she/her

Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have proliferated worldwide over the last decades. However, their private character, involvement in grave human rights violations, and long record of impunity have made PMSCs a target of public scrutiny and a growing concern in international politics.

In this context, firstly, I aim to answer what are the criminogenic features of PMSCs by conducting a criminological systematic study of their structures, characteristics, and dynamics, including information about their members and owners, their political affiliations and ideologies, their relations with political sectors, the contexts in which the companies operate in the hiring states, and the crimes in which they are involved according to human rights reports. I will collect and analyse secondary data about PMSCs, as well as crimes or offences perpetrated or facilitated by PMSCs listed in official human rights reports, academic papers, or court files.

Secondly, I aim to address the challenges posed by PMSCs to the legitimacy of states by examining the international relations and international law debates on accountability when PMSCs are involved in the commission of atrocity crimes. My research focuses on how the characteristics, structures, and dynamics of PMSCs potentially harm state sovereignty and legitimacy, and whether economic and political interests between states and PMSCs create incentives to perpetuate conflicts and impunity. For this part of the study, I will conduct semi-structured interviews with relevant actors of human rights institutions, such as representatives of UN committees and non-governmental human rights organisations.