The Routledge Research Companion to Security Outsourcing ― The Role of the Market in 21st Century Warfare

Conveniently structured into five sections for todaya€?s time conscious researcher, The Ashgate Research Companion to Outsourcing Foreign Policy puts into context the evolution of outsourcing in Western States that are actively involved in expeditionary operations. Demonstrating their willingness to engage in humanitarian operations and hence turning to the market to support their interventions, chapters take account of the separate histories behind outsourcing diplomatic security and logistical support. To explain the various theoretical frameworks that students can use to study security/military outsourcing, Part two outlines the theories behind outsourcing foreign policy. Part three is dedicated to the law and ethics surrounding outsourcing by focusing on how states might monitor contractor behaviour, hold them to account and prosecute them where their behaviour warrants such action. The drivers, politics and consequences of outsourcing foreign policy is covered in Part four which is divided into two sections; section one armed contractors (supporting military operations right back to antiquity, less controversial politically and technologically driven), section two military contractors (providing the provision of private security with the main driver being a capability gap on the part of the military/law enforcement agencies). This volume provides a clear distinction between these two provisions. The final Part takes into consideration civil military/contractor relations exploring areas such as how soldiers transition from a soldier to a military/security contractor, the challenges for military personnel and their families, military efficiency and the role gender plays in this process.

Joakim Berndtsson is a Associate Professor at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Christopher Kinsey is Reader in Business & International Security at Kings College London, UK.