Corporate Soldiers and International Security

Description

This book traces the history of private military companies, with a special focus on UK private forces.

Christopher Kinsey examines the mercenary companies that filled the ranks of many European armies right up to the 1850s, the organizations that operated in Africa in the 1960s and early 1970s, the rise of legally established private military companies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and today’s private and important actors in international security and post-conflict reconstruction.

He shows how and why the change from the mercenary organizations of the 1960s and 1970s came about, as the increasing newness of private military companies came to be recognised. It then examines how PMCs have been able to impact upon international security. Finally, Kinsey looks at the type of problems and advantages that can arise for organizations that decide to use private military companies and how they can make an unique contribution to international security.

Corporate Soldiers and International Security will be of great interest to all students of international politics, security studies and war studies.

Contents

Introduction 1. Historical Overview of the Marginalization of Legitimate Nonstate Violence 2. The Evolution of Private Violence as an Instrument of Foreign Policy 3. Tensions Exposed in the Arms to Sierra Leone Affair 4. A Typology of Private Military Organisations 5. The Privatisation of Warfare and the Emergence of PMCs 6. The Role of PMCs in a Changing Global Environment 7. Regulation and Control: the Legislative Dimension 8. Regulation and Control: the Role of Military Values in Managing the Practices of PMCs. Conclusion

Related Subjects

1. Military Studies
2. Security Studies - Military & Strategic
3. Contemporary Conflict
4. Strategic Theory