The Sociology of Privatized Security

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xix

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2. Introduction: Sociology and the Privatization of Security

   • Thomas Crosbie, Ori Swed

   Pages 1-19

3. Examining the Trend

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 21-21

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   2. Why Privatize: The Reasons Rulers Today Buy, Rent, or Create Private Militaries

      • Richard Lachmann

      Pages 23-43

   3. From Mercenaries to Private Patriots: Nationalism and the Private Military Contractors

      • Siniša Malešević

      Pages 45-66

   4. Legitimacy Building in Policy and Practice: The Case of US Private Military and Security Contractors (PMSCs) in Afghanistan

      • Eric W. Schoon, Courtney DeRoche

      Pages 67-83

4. Privatization and the State’s Monopoly on Violence

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 85-85

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   2. The Expansion of the US Military’s Civilian Periphery and Corollary Progressive Changes in US Military Law

      • Daniel Burland

      Pages 87-105

   3. Reserve Forces and the Privatization of the Military by the Nation State

      • K. Neil Jenkings, Antonia Dawes, Timothy Edmunds, Paul Higate, Rachel Woodward

      Pages 107-136

   4. Making Markets Responsible: Revisiting the State Monopoly on the Legitimate Use of Force

      • Anna Leander

      Pages 137-169

5. The State and the Contractors

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 171-171

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   2. Gendered Companies, Gendered Security

      • Joseph R. Bongiovi, Lisa Leitz

      Pages 173-216

   3. The Specter and Labor of the Black Poor in South Africa’s Private Security Industry

      • Andy Clarno

      Pages 217-236

   4. Who Are the Private Military and Security Contractors? A Window to a New Profession

      • John Sibley Butler, Bryan Stephens, Ori Swed

      Pages 237-258

6. Conclusion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 259-259

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   2. Trendlines: Privatization and the Future of War and Security

      • Ori Swed, Thomas Crosbie

      Pages 261-273

7. Back Matter

   Pages 275-281

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The first book dedicated to the sociology of privatized security, this collection studies the important global trend of shifting security from public to private hands and the associated rise of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) and their contractors. The volume first explores the trend itself, making important historical and theoretical revisions to the existing social science of private security. These chapters discuss why rulers buy, rent and create private militaries, why mercenaries have become private patriots, and why the legitimacy of military missions is undermined by the use of contractors. The next section challenges the idea that states have a monopoly on legitimate violence and questions our legal and economic assumptions about private security. The collection concludes with a discussion of the contractors themselves, focusing on gender, race, ethnicity, and other demographic factors. Featuring a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods and a range of theoretical and methodological innovations,  this book will inspire sociologists to examine, with fresh eyes, the behind-the-scenes tension between the high drama of war and conflict and the mundane realities of privatized security contractors and their everyday lives.

• Security contractors
• Private security
• Military contracts
• Private security companies
• Private military
• Gender and security
• Gender and the military
• military regulation
• security regulation
• Privatization
• State monopology
• Nationalism
• Legitimacy
• state violence
• military technology
• military organization
• Private Military and Security Companies
• privatization of state violence

“The re-appearance of privatised military forces has been one of the most striking and debated military developments since the end of the Cold War. Does the emergence of private military and security companies constitute the end of the state's monopoly of legitimate violence or only its extension? This volume seeks to address this vital question and its diverse and portentous implications. Although the collection explores the privatisation of military power from a number of illuminating angles, including nationalism, law and the reserves, the collection is unified by its resolutely sociological orientation. As such, it is unique and will be an indispensable guide for scholars interested in this important topic.” (Anthony King, The University of Warwick, UK)

“Who are contemporary corporate warriors? What do they do? What motivates them? How do they compare to their historical predecessors? What are the implications for global security? Are there implications for inequities within and across boarders?  From the gates of exclusive African neighborhoods to the hills of Afghanistan, private military security contractors are redefining the face of global security. The time has come for a sociology of privatized security. In The Sociology of Privatized Security, Ori Swed and Thomas Crosbie masterfully make the case.” (Patricia M. Shields, Texas State University, USA)

• Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Social Work, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA

  Ori Swed

• Royal Danish Defence College, Copenhagen, Denmark

  Thomas Crosbie

Ori Swed is Assistant Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Texas Tech University, USA, where he is also Director of the Peace, War, & Social Conflict Lab. His research focuses on the role of non-state actors in conflict and security.

Thomas Crosbie is Assistant Professor of Military Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, Denmark. His research focuses the linked themes of military politics, the professionalization of security, the privatization of security and the operational level of war.

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