The Transformation of the Private Security Industry and Its Impact on State Sovereignty in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract:
This study examines the transformation of the private security industry in Sub-Saharan Africa and analyzes its impact on state sovereignty in the context of the growing role of non-state actors in security provision. It is guided by a central research question: How does the expansion of private security companies reshape state sovereignty in Sub-Saharan Africa?

The study adopts a qualitative analytical approach, supported by a limited comparative analysis of selected cases, covering the period from 2000 to 2025, with a focus on the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and Central Africa. It draws on a combined theoretical framework integrating the concept of the monopoly of legitimate violence and the literature on hybrid security governance, which conceptualizes sovereignty as a process of redistribution rather than decline.

The findings demonstrate that the expansion of private security companies does not merely undermine sovereignty, but actively restructures it through three key mechanisms: the sharing of the monopoly of violence, as security and military functions are delegated to private actors; the constraint of political decision-making, due to elite dependence on these companies; and the reconfiguration of resource sovereignty, through "security-for-concessions" arrangements in sectors such as energy and mining.

The study contributes to the literature by offering an analytical model that links the political economy of security to transformations of sovereignty in the African context, moving beyond descriptive accounts toward a more structured explanatory framework ■