The mercenary business: ‘executive outcomes’

Executive Outcomes is an army for hire. A sophisticated force, the ‘company’ will not work for rebel movements but contracts with ‘democratic’ governments. ‘Executive Outcomes is the small wave of the future in terms of defence and security, because the international community has abdicated that role’ (Barlow, 1997). Rather than being seen as mercenaries, they prefer the label of ‘corporate troubleshooters’, a niche which incorporates a huge unmet demand for security in Africa.