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30 Wash. Int'l L.J. 116 (2020-2021)
Guns-for-Hire: Chinese Mercenaries on the 21st Century Silk Road

handle is hein.journals/pacrimlp30 and id is 124 raw text is: Copyright © 2020 Washington International Law Journal Association GUNS-FOR-HIRE: CHINESE MERCENARIES ON THE 21ST CENTURY SILK ROAD Carl H. Peterson IVt Abstract: There has been an increased global use of private military contractors (PMCs) since the large-scale American use of them in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This has included an increase in Russian and now Chinese PMCs. As China continues to develop its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is likely that the world will see an increase in the number of Chinese PMCs used to protect these projects. In this event it is important to bring Chinese PMCs into the PMC industry's most effective private regulatory bodies, as these bodies are often more effective at ensuring ethical PMC conduct than international and national legal regimes. Cite as: Carl H. Peterson IV, Guns-for-Hire: Chinese Mercenaries on the 21 Century Silk Road, 30 WASH. INT'L L.J. 116 (2020). INTRODUCTION What is old is new. After being largely eliminated in the West following the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, mercenaries are making a comeback.1 The best examples of mercenaryism resurgence were illustrated in African conflicts from the mid-to-late 20' century and America's recent use of private military contractors in its Global War on Terrorism.2 However, these are just two examples of a much larger movement. There has been global growth of guns-for-hire, though rather than mercenaries, these companies are mostly referred to as private security contractors (PSC) or private military contractors (PMC).3 This growth is likely to continue.4 The trend started in Africa,5 moved to the t The author would like to thank Professor Dongsheng Zang for his advice and support, as well as the editorial staff of the Washington International Law Journal. 1 SEAN MCFATE, THE MODERN MERCENARY: PRIVATE ARMIES AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR WORLD ORDER 32 (2014). 2 See id. at 38, 45. 3 Id. at 3-4. 4 Id. at 62. 5 Id. at 38.

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