Military Contractors & the American Way of War

Bibliographic Data

ID9685012
AuthorsDeborah Avant (0000-0003-4881-2377, Office of the Governor, corresponding author), Deborah D Avant (Deborah D. Avant is Professor of Political Science and Director of the program and Center for International Studies at the University of California, Irvine. Her publications include Political Institutions and Military Change: Lessons from Peripheral Wars (1994), The Market for Force: The Consequences of Privatizing Security (2005), and Who Governs the Globe? (with Martha Finnemore and Susan Sell, 2010)), Renée De Nevers (Bank of America)
Year2011
Volume140
Issue3
Pages88-99
Publication date2011-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDaedalus (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0011-5266 • E-ISSN: 1548-6192
PublisherMIT Press - Journals (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1162/daed_a_00100
OpenAlexW2086734486
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited2

Contractors are deeply intertwined with the American military and U.S. foreign policy. Over half of the personnel the United States has deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2003 have been con- tractors. Their relationship with the U.S. government, the public, and domestic and international law differs from that of military personnel, and these differences pose both bene1⁄2ts and risks. America's use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) can provide or enhance forces for global gover- nance. Yet PMSCs can also be used to pursue agendas that do not have the support of American, inter- national, or local publics. Thus far, the use of PMSCs has proved a mixed bag in terms of effectiveness, accountability, and American values. Moving forward in a way that maximizes the bene1⁄2ts of contrac- tors and minimizes their risks will require careful management of the uncomfortable trade-offs these forces present

Accountability · Business · Economic growth · Economic policy · Economics · Government (linguistics · International trade · National security · Political science · Politics · Private sector · Publics · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Law · Military and Defense Studies · Military History and Strategy · Public Administration

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