DIPLOMAT_9-22-2015_0063
In those days, Africa was rapidly disconnecting itself from British, French, Belgian and Portuguese colonial rule, with the result that “a black market for mercenaries thrived.” Despite the boom, it wasn’t until the 1970s, however, “that the laws of war noticed mercenaries [and] prompted the society of states to formally proscribe mercenaries in the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions” — meaning that they would not be considered real soldiers, entitled to the minimal rights granted prisoners of war. So writes Sean McFate, himself a former private soldier in Africa, in his information-rich book The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order (Oxford University Press, $29.95)
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Lagos, Nigeria: Most of Nigeria’s 170 million people are extremely poor, though exports of crude oil generate billions of dollars in revenue every year, writes author Tom Burgis. (Photo: © Igorspb | Dreamstime.com)
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Patrice Lumumba, the Congo’s first democratically elected leader, raises his hands, injured by shackles, after being released from prison. He was later assassinated. (Photo: Nationaal Archief Fotocollectie Anefo)
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![In those days, Africa was rapidly disconnecting itself from British, French, Belgian and Portuguese colonial rule, with the result that “a black market for mercenaries thrived.” Despite the boom, it wasn’t until the 1970s, however, “that the laws of war noticed mercenaries [and] prompted the society of states to formally proscribe mercenaries in the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions” — meaning that they would not be considered real soldiers, entitled to the minimal rights granted prisoners of war. So writes Sean McFate, himself a former private soldier in Africa, in his information-rich book The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order (Oxford University Press, $29.95)](https://diplomatonline.com/mag/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/DIPLOMAT_9-22-2015_0063-150x150.jpg)
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In those days, Africa was rapidly disconnecting itself from British, French, Belgian and Portuguese colonial rule, with the result that “a black market for mercenaries thrived.” Despite the boom, it wasn’t until the 1970s, however, “that the laws of war noticed mercenaries [and] prompted the society of states to formally proscribe mercenaries in the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions” — meaning that they would not be considered real soldiers, entitled to the minimal rights granted prisoners of war. So writes Sean McFate, himself a former private soldier in Africa, in his information-rich book The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order (Oxford University Press, $29.95)
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