Private security and military contractors: A troubling oversight

Abstract

Though private military and security companies (PMSCs) have been addressed extensively in the literature, little research has been done on the contractors themselves, leaving us in the dark as to who these individuals are. In this article, we focus on the critical case of the United States armed services and argue that two broad developments have been converging that both point to the need for new, microlevel sociological research on the people who are involved in the global PMSC industry. To this end, we first draw from an extensive political science literature to illustrate the rise of the PMSCs and concomitant evolution of the security sector, while noting a new trend that points to the need for moving from the macrosocial to the microsocial level of inquiry. Second, we indicate the challenges contractors pose to the sociological paradigm of military professionalism: These suggest a need to move from the mesosocial to the microsocial level of inquiry. We conclude by reviewing the existing research on the demographics of the sector and then indicating the troubling gaps in our current understanding of this critical sector of the national security apparatus.

The Corporate War Dead: New Perspectives on the Demographics of American and British Contractors

“…A review of PMSCs scholarship shows that although debated extensively by different disciplines, little research has been done on the demographics of contractors (Swed & Crosbie, 2017). While we assume things about their capabilities and training, our assumptions may or may not correspond with reality.…”

“…As research on the topic progresses, a significant gap has become clear. While researchers now understand the rise of PMSCs and the new roles performed by PMSCs on the macro-social level, there is little that we know, empirically, about those who work in this critical industry (Swed & Crosbie, 2017; White, 2017). Only a handful of studies address the complex of issues associated with contractors’ demographics and life experiences in the wake of this neoliberal trend of outsourcing “core” state tasks to “peripheral” actors (King, 2006; Levy, 2010).…”

Contractors in Iraq: Exploited Class or Exclusive Club?

“…Acquiring data on the PMSC industry is notoriously difficult (Butler et al, 2019;Swed & Crosbie, 2017), as evidenced by the scarcity of empirical-based studies on the topic. PMSCs are not obligated to share information, even if they act as government proxies.…”

The Afghanistan War’s Legacy: The Reimagining of the Outsourcing of War and Security

“…Critics note that PMSCs occupy a hybrid role that can potentially erode the state power and compete with the armed forces (Leander, 2004; McCoy, 2010). That odd hybrid status of between military and civilian and between private and public actors invited complicated legal questions, stressing issues of jurisdiction, accountability, and oversight (Leander, 2010; Swed & Crosbie, 2017; Terry, 2010). Finally, the extensive outsourcing in the global south also invited a debate on racism and exploitation associated with this industry (Chisholm, 2014; Chisholm & Stachowitsch, 2016; Eichler, 2014; Moore, 2017; Swed & Burland, 2022).…”