The Weak Leviathan von Rikke Schjønberg/Westh Pedersen

With the help of Mark Duffield and Stuart Hall we are making a comparative study of the effects and side effects of the use of Private Military Companies (PMCs) in South Africa and Iraq. We are drawing upon the concepts of our two theorists to give a conclusion to our study. We are investigating how the two countries use the PMCs to obtain security as well as the impact this has on the institutional settings, the population and the state. Furthermore we are looking into the commodification of security, the (lack of) regulation regarding PMCs as well as the need to have security and the possibility to gain/obtain it through the use of PMCs.

Westh is a BSc in Int. Development from RUC (Roskilde University), now studying MSSc in Int. Security and Law at University of Southern Denmark. Larsen studies a BSc in Geography at the University of Copenhagen. Dickow is a BSc in Business Studies from RUC. Schjønberg is a BSc in EU Studies from RUC, now studying MSc in Spatial Planning in Oxford.