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2021 Army Law. 44 (2021)
Are Mercenaries the Future of Warfare?

handle is hein.journals/armylaw2021 and id is 46 raw text is: (Credit: kaninstudio - stock.adobe.cornm) Practite N tes Are Mercenaries the Future of Warfare? By Colonel Jeffrey S. Thurnher Mercenaries ... are useless and dangerous. And if a prince holds on to his state by means of mercenary armies, he will never be stable or secure.' Frankly, ... we need to accept the fact that mercenaries are here to stay, and they will change warfare as we know it.' Mercenaries have been used since the dawn of war.3 For much of history, it was preferable to rent an existing, trained force rather than going through the expense of creating one from within.4 From the mid-nineteenth century through the end of the twentieth century, as nation-states developed professional militar- ies, mercenaries fell out of favor. In recent years, however, there has been a tremendous resurgence in the use of mercenary forces on the battlefield.' While Machiavelli may have discouraged their use over five-hundred years ago, many nations appear to have adopted the modern-day sentiment of Professor Sean McFate from the National Defense University: mercenaries are an accepted and growing element of warfare. One of the most prolific users of mercenaries is Russia, which has used such groups to expand its presence and influence in various hotspots around the world. Rather than deploying large numbers of military forces into conflict zones, Russia has increas- ingly sent mercenaries to accomplish the mission.' The use of these opaque forces is intended to provide plausible deniability for any involvement and to shield the Russian government from respon- sibility.7 These Russian efforts represent a dangerous geopolitical trend. They also present unique legal challenges in terms of state responsibility and accountability under the law of armed conflict. In the era of great power competition, judge advocates (JAs) need to be aware of these battlefield developments. They must be Army Lawyer - Practice Notes - Issue 1 - 2021 44

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