Armies Without States : The Privatization of Security

Foreign Affairs

This short, dense work by a professor of international relations is a serious meditation on an important subject: the migration of important security functions from the state to private organizations. That is not the way it was supposed to be done under the Westphalian system of state organization, although scholars of early-modern Europe should be interested to know that their political science colleagues are surprised to learn that it is happening. More interested in categorization and conceptualization than in narrative, this book is nonetheless a useful look at a subject likely to grow in importance — if only because, as the author argues, many countries will not have much of a choice.

Booknews

Defining "security" as military forces or other users of coercive violence, Mandel (international affairs, Lewis and Clark College), argues that the increasing proliferation of mercenaries, militias, paramilitaries, and other privatized security forces is not a minor side-element of global affairs, but rather a center-stage phenomena with major spillover effects. The dissolution of the state's monopoly on violence is explored in eight case studies and projected consequences are analyzed. Decreased access to equal protection, the loss of democratic control over military forces, increased reliance on violence to resolve conflict, and the corruption of coercive authority are seen as just some of the dangers inherent in security privatization. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)