DUTCH NARRATIVES IN THE PRIVATE MILITARY SECURITY DEBATE

Abstract

In the last decades, Private Military Security Companies have become a mainstay on the international stage. In the Netherlands the debate concerning these PMSCs has mainly focused on a single industry, the shipping industry. With the use of the concept of narrative, recently introduced to the field of international relations by Alexander Spencer, the Dutch discourse was analyzed. Sources used are parliamentary debates, government reports and webpages belonging to PMSCs. Five distinct narratives were found in the literature, four of which were also found in the Dutch discourse. A fifth, unexpected narrative was also found, which the author has titled the ‘tied hands’ narrative. Word