Prospects and Problems of the Use of New Order PMSC in East Africa

In recent decades, some researchers and experts have written a lot about the fact that the monopoly of nation-states on external violence is gradually disappearing, and non-state entities are becoming more and more proactive, challenging the state. Among these actors are criminal groups, underground trade networks, smugglers, slave traders, drug traffickers, gun runners, terrorist groups, pirates. All of them pose so-called non-traditional threats and challenges to states. In the context of the new Cold War, their activities are intensifying. This article is devoted to the analysis of the situation in the coastal waters of East Africa, one of the so-called gray zones, where non-state shadow actors are especially active. The authors investigate the capabilities of the East African states to withstand non-traditional maritime challenges and threats and come to the conclusion that these states are unable to cope on their own. The great powers, on the other hand, are focused on confronting each other and have no capacity to divert forces for operations to maintain order in distant regions. The authors believe that in these conditions, Russia is faced with new opportunities: it can create and send to the region private maritime security companies of a new type, New Order PMSC, which will be financed through a contract with the client state and at the same time will help to strengthen Russia's influence. Unlike ordinary PMSCs, they are not interested in dragging out the conflict, their goal is to eliminate hotbeds of danger and prepare the coast guard forces of client states to deal with potential threats. The activities of these companies will be equally beneficial to the states of East Africa and Russia. The authors propose an approximate composition of such PMSCs, outline the goals and objectives they face, and make certain that with the help of relatively low costs, Russia can improve the effectiveness of its policy in the region.