Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Publication Date

Spring 3-31-2023

College

Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of

Department

Political Science, Department of

BURS Faculty Advisor

Dr. Nathan Griffith

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Why has the use of Private Military Companies "PMCs" increased since the global war on terrorism? What services are PMC contracted to perform? Since the global war on terrorism, there has been an increased use of PMCs. Scholars have attempted to understand the increased use of PMCs by examining the economic relationship between PMCs and the government and have attributed their cost-effectiveness to their increased use. Other analyses focus on the period of downsizing militaries that followed the Cold War's conclusion and contributed the policies that embraced the outsourcing of contractors to perform certain tasks that allow the limit personal available to focus on military-specific activities to the increased use of PMCs. While these analyses provide insight into the potential causes that contribute to the increase of outsourcing PMCs, they have not considered the potential relationship between the number of reservists available and levels of terrorism to the increased use of PMCs. Understanding the strength of our military's availability and readiness is essential. The increased use of PMCs since the global war on terrorism is due to the number of troops available and the level of terrorism in conflict. I hypothesize that there will be an increase in money spent on PMCs when the size of military personnel available is small, and the level of terrorism is high. There will not be an increase in money spent on PMCs if the number of reservists is high and the level of terrorism is low. To test my hypothesis, I will use a linear regression.

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