Security beyond the state: Private security in international politics

摘要

The popular conception of privately contracted security actors is of grizzled soldiers of fortune for hire who ply their trade in remote and rugged conflict zones. As the frequent reports of shadowy activities and abusive practices attributed to the many mercenaries contracted to support the US military mission in Iraq and Afghanistan suggest, this view is not entirely inaccurate. Nevertheless, a casual stroll through fashionable urban residential and commercial areas throughout the world reveals a much less contentious private security presence, ordinary because of its ubiquity. Here one sees the familiar wide array of services and technologies, including high walls and gated communities, razor wire and electrified fencing, controlled access and armed response patrols, and cameras and motion sensor lighting, all designed to protect property and deter intruders. There can be little doubt that private security companies have become a fixture in virtually every corner of the globe and the explosive growth of the multinational private security industry and its place in the shifting terrain of global and national polities is the subject of this thoughtful, timely and often insightful new book.