ABSTRACT
The competition between private companies lowers the cost of providing the services, it allows for more flexibility with regard to allocating resources to functions, the competition between companies ensures that they operate at maximum efficiency, and the government is spared the fixed costs associated with providing all these services in house'. The key argument democratic governments use to justify their use of Private Security Companies (PSCs) in conflict zones turns on the distinction between war fighting and the provision of other services often carried out by the military. The legal and ethical codes binding on military personnel are clear and service men and women are trained to know what they are and how they are to be applied. Governments in democratic states are held directly accountable for the conduct of their military forces and conversely these forces know themselves to be accountable to their governments and to their fellow citizens.
