Private Maritime Security Companies
Within the International Legal Framework
for Maritime Security
Osatohanmwen Anastasia Eruaga
Abstract This chapter considers the involvement of a particular non-state actor,
private maritime security companies (PMSCs), in the conduct of anti-piracy operations. Specifically, this chapter critiques their role and status as part of the current
broader security framework arising from a modification of the normative preconception of security challenges in the post cold war era. The central argument is that
the legitimacy of PMSCs in contributing to international maritime security governance through anti-piracy measures occurs within the framework of the existing
system made up of a plurality of states and other non-state actors. Despite this
participation through roles that are similar to those of the state, it does not necessarily
constitute a challenge to the firm grip that states have over international law and
consequently the involvement of PMSCs.
Contemporary maritime security as a part and a reflection of the current broader
security framework has witnessed a modification of the normative preconception of
security challenges. Generally ascribed to the post-Cold War era, coupled with the
phenomena of globalization, privatization revolution, and the rise of new technologies, the notion of security both on land and at sea have undergone a re-direction of
focus from the Weberian imagery of traditional security threats.
1 This change has
widened the notion of security and the means to address issues related to it. A
growing number of actors other than the state appear to have taken greater roles and
functions in the international system. As an outcome, systems involving interrelated
multilevel actors and decision-making processes exist within, between, and outside
O. A. Eruaga (*)
World Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden
Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Abuja, Nigeria
e-mail: P1405@WMU.SE
1 Liss (2011), p. 323; Brooks (2000), p. 133; Jakobi and Wolf (2013), p. 5; Berube and Cullen
(2012), p. 7; Liss (2015), p. 85.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. K. Mukherjee et al. (eds.), Maritime Law in Motion, WMU Studies in Maritime
Affairs 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31749-2_10
175
Within the International Legal Framework
for Maritime Security
Osatohanmwen Anastasia Eruaga
Abstract This chapter considers the involvement of a particular non-state actor,
private maritime security companies (PMSCs), in the conduct of anti-piracy operations. Specifically, this chapter critiques their role and status as part of the current
broader security framework arising from a modification of the normative preconception of security challenges in the post cold war era. The central argument is that
the legitimacy of PMSCs in contributing to international maritime security governance through anti-piracy measures occurs within the framework of the existing
system made up of a plurality of states and other non-state actors. Despite this
participation through roles that are similar to those of the state, it does not necessarily
constitute a challenge to the firm grip that states have over international law and
consequently the involvement of PMSCs.
Contemporary maritime security as a part and a reflection of the current broader
security framework has witnessed a modification of the normative preconception of
security challenges. Generally ascribed to the post-Cold War era, coupled with the
phenomena of globalization, privatization revolution, and the rise of new technologies, the notion of security both on land and at sea have undergone a re-direction of
focus from the Weberian imagery of traditional security threats.
1 This change has
widened the notion of security and the means to address issues related to it. A
growing number of actors other than the state appear to have taken greater roles and
functions in the international system. As an outcome, systems involving interrelated
multilevel actors and decision-making processes exist within, between, and outside
O. A. Eruaga (*)
World Maritime University, Malmö, Sweden
Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Abuja, Nigeria
e-mail: P1405@WMU.SE
1 Liss (2011), p. 323; Brooks (2000), p. 133; Jakobi and Wolf (2013), p. 5; Berube and Cullen
(2012), p. 7; Liss (2015), p. 85.
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
P. K. Mukherjee et al. (eds.), Maritime Law in Motion, WMU Studies in Maritime
Affairs 8, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31749-2_10
175