Regulation, Legal Gray Zones And Conflict Dynamics

My third project focuses on law, regulation and the legal gray zones in which private military companies operate in the Middle East. PMCs are neither traditional mercenaries nor regular soldiers, and the rules that govern them are fragmented across national legislation, soft‑law instruments and uneven enforcement. I am interested in how these gaps and ambiguities are actively used by states and companies, rather than treated as mere technical problems.

In this research, I map and compare different regulatory approaches in the states that send PMCs and those that host them, and I link these frameworks to concrete conflict dynamics: how PMCs are deployed, how accountable they are, and who ultimately bears responsibility for their actions. By putting legal context at the centre of the analysis, I show that regulation – and deliberate non‑regulation – plays a crucial role in shaping contemporary warfare and in redefining the boundaries of the state’s monopoly of force. This project complements my broader PhD by highlighting the institutional and legal conditions under which violence can be outsourced in the Middle East.