The Role of Sri Lanka’s Private Security Sector in Assisting the Nation During Pandemics and Natural Disasters

Abstract

The role of private security companies (PSC) has become ever more significant in the 21st century as the world faces increasingly complex threats which require holistic and multidimensional solutions. Non-traditional security threats such as natural disasters and pandemics which could imperil the very survival of humanity have become a focal point in contemporary security studies and analysis. Many international organisations and nation states have deployed private military companies to provide a wide range of security services in fulfilling and achieving much broader strategic objectives. Private security companies are certainly not a substitute for a military and should not be considered as one. However, private security companies play a fundamental role in reinforcing the national effort during times of natural disasters, pandemics and national crisis situations. In the wake of the recent COVID- 19 pandemic which has plagued the world, the importance of private security companies as an effective force in preventing the spread of the virus and providing assistance during national crisis situations has been recognised through many success stories which have transpired from across the globe. This paper will explore how PSCs have become an important part of the civil-military relations and homeland security paradigms. This paper argues that PSCs in Sri Lanka have a fundamental role to play in order to meet the demands of a new strategic environment and new sources of non- traditional security threats.