In this episode, we speak with Dr. Alessandro Arduino about his latest book, Money for Mayhem: Mercenaries, Private Military Companies, Drones, and the Future of War. Dr. Arduino shares his insights on the rising influence of private military contractors, particularly from China, Russia, and Turkey, and their impact on global security dynamics. He delves into the role of technology, including UAVs, in modern warfare and discusses the ethical implications of privatizing security. Join us as we explore the future trajectories of private military actors and their significance in shaping the landscape of conflict.

In this episode, we speak with Anne-Marie Buzatu, Vice President and COO of ICT4Peace Foundation, who played a pivotal role in the development of the International Code of Conduct and the founding of ICoCA. Anne-Marie shares insights from her time as a principal architect of the initiative and reflects on the challenges faced during the creation of governance and oversight mechanisms for private security companies.

In this episode we speak to Mark DeWitt, chief legal officer and general counsel at Gardaworld Federal Services. He was on the first intake of the ICoCA’s board of directors and played an instrumental role before the association was founded.  

S2E3 - In this episode, we welcome Amol Mehra, director of industry programs at Laudes Foundation. He was one of the founding board members of ICoCA. Amol will tell us more about the process of creation of the ICoCA, and specifically, about the role that the civil society play in the process of ensuring accountability of private security companies.

In this episode we speak to Rémy Friedmann, Senior Advisor on Business and Human Rights at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs who was ICoCA's first Chair of the Board of Directors and guided the Association through its early years.

In this episode, we welcome Andrew Clapham, professor of international law at the Geneva Graduate Institute, and member of  ICoCA's Advisory Group. Having been involved in the development and drafting of the International Code of Conduct, he will walk us through the context, as well as the process of the negotiations that have preceded the Code's establishment. 

After a career in the Gurkhas and Singapore Police, Ian Gordon founded his own private security company, IDG Security, an ICoCA Certified Member Company with operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, and Myanmar. So what are the pitfalls in recruiting private security personnel from South Asia, and how does Ian avoid these? We talk to Ian about the powerful role agents play, and how this is leading to third country nationals contracted as private security guards ending up as bonded labourers in many complex environments.

In the fourteenth episode of ICoCA's podcast series we talk to Mike Blyth, Chief Operating Officer at Risk and Strategic Management, Corp (RSM). With a background in the military, Mike has decades of experience helping humanitarian actors with their security needs and recently completed a PhD on the topic. We ask him about his research and what his experience working with humanitarian agencies and NGOs has taught him about how the sector approaches risk, resilience and security. 

Simon Pears, Chair of the International Professional Security Association (IPSA) shares his vision for gathering data on the treatment of private security personnel around the world.

In the twelfth episode we talk to Stella Kagwi, Group HR Coordinator for WS Insight, an ICoCA Member Company with operations across Africa, about why and how human resource management plays such a critical role in the provision of responsible security.  

Richard Robinson is a Senior Advisor for GardaWorld. His vast experience has seen him working in and across all sectors, corporate, non-profit and government. He was born in the Democratic Republic of Congo and spent the last two decades there, which included setting up one of the largest tin mines in the world in a remote region of North Kivu. So what have his experiences working for and contracting private security companies in DRC taught him about the role responsible security can play in settings renowned for corruption and conflict?

Candace Rondeaux, Professor of Practice at the School of Politics and Global Studies and Senior Fellow with the Center on the Future of War, Arizona State University, shares her insights on the rise of Russian mercenaries, including the Wagner group.

In the first episode of the second series, we talk to two members of the ICoCA Board of Directors, Jo Anthoine, Director of Risk and Welfare, GardaWorld and Michelle Quinn, Senior Vice President, Patriot Group International. Why did they choose careers in the private security sector? What has their experience been of the challenges and opportunities women face in a male-dominated industry. How and why do private security companies and the communities in which they operate, benefit by bringing more women into the workforce?

Jonathan Drimmer, Partner at Paul Hastings law firm shares his insights on why companies should care about human rights.

Dr. Christopher Kinsey, Reader at Kings College London, describes how the private security sector has changed over the last two decades, how accountability mechanisms have developed during this period and how he sees them developing over the coming decades.

James Sinclair, Executive Director of Ethical Innovations shares his insights on the issue of modern slavery within the private security sector.

A conversation with Emily Munro, Head of Strategic Anticipation at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GSCP).

An interview with Dr Sorcha MacLeod, Associate Professor and Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellow in the Centre for Private Governance (CEPRI) in the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen and an independent human rights expert on the United Nations Working Group on Mercenaries and the UN Intergovernmental Working Group on private military and security companies.

Dr. Jean-Marc Rickli considers whether technology is a force for good or bad, and what mechanisms can be put in place to effectively govern the use of technology across the private security sector.

An interview with Richard Wylde, Director for Government and Defence at Control Risks and Chair of the UK Security in Complex Environments Group (SCEG) on what COVID-19 teaches us about ensuring responsible security that respects human rights.