Hiring of Forces and Security in the Arab Gulf: The Case of Private Security Companies in Qatar

Abstract

Although literature abounds on the activities of private security companies (PSCs) in the Arab Gulf, how the PSCs hire their forces and the security threat it poses to the region have not been given the needed academic attention. In the Gulf sub-region where the PSCs rely solely on migrants to man their field operations, we ask how the forces are hired and its ramifications to the security of the state. In so doing, this article examines the operations of PSCs in the Gulf State of Qatar. It starts by highlighting the trends and trajectory of policing in Qatar and explains the reasons for the proliferation of PSCs in the conservative energy rich state. Second, it describes the procedures and processes used by the PSCs in hiring their forces. Third, it discusses the existing legal frameworks regulating the activities of the PSCs. The article concludes that the current situation where hiring of the field forces is undertaken by profit-oriented private institutions with little state supervision poses a threat to the peace and stability of the state in the long run.