Private Military Corporations and Their Role in Conflict and Peacekeeping

A Beyond the Headlines Event

[Greenville, SC] – January 23, 2024 – Upstate International is pleased to announce that Dr. Edward L. Mienie, a celebrated academic and author in international relations and national intelligence, will be the distinguished speaker at the upcoming Beyond the Headlines Speaker Series event on February 14^th, 2024, at the Kroc Center in downtown Greenville. In recent years, Private Military Corporations (PMCs) have begun to play a larger role in military conflicts on the international stage yet may remain an underutilized asset for addressing security concerns. How did PMCs evolve into this role? How do they get funded? What power do they have? How do they relate to governments? This event seeks to develop an understanding of PMCs to recognize how states should and should not employ them to improve security, governance, and quality of life.

Dr. Edward L. Mienie is the Executive Director and Professor of Strategic & Security Studies in the Department of Political Science & International Affairs at the University of North Georgia. He has more than 25 years of experience working in international relations. This includes the Diplomatic Corps of South Africa and the South African Defense Force. He has also authored and co-authored various books and articles on intelligence and state fragility. Among the books he has contributed to is “Private Military Security Companies’ Influence on International Security and Foreign Policy.”