The morality of private war : the challenge of private military and security companies / James Pattison.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pattison, James, 1980- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Private military companies--Moral and ethical aspects.

Private military companies.

Private security services--Moral and ethical aspects.

Private security services.

Military ethics.

Physical Description:

viii, 258 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Oxford, United Kingdom : Oxford University Press, 2014.

Summary:

The increased use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) is often said to be one of the most significant changes to the military in recent times. The Morality of Private War: The Challenge of Private Military and Security Companies, provides a detailed assessment of the moral arguments for and against the use of PMSCs. In doing so, it considers objections to private force at the employee, employer, and international levels. For instance, does the potential for private contractors to possess mercenary motives affect whether they can use military force? Does a state abdicate an essential responsibility when it employs PMSCs? Is the use of PMSCs morally preferable to the alternatives, such as an all-volunteer force and a conscripted army? What are the effects of treating military services as a commodity for the governing rules of the international system? Overall, The Morality of Private War argues that private military force leads not only to contingent moral problems stemming from the lack of effective regulation, but also to several deeper, more fundamental problems that mean that public force should be preferred. Nevertheless, it also argues that, despite these problems, the use of PMSCs can sometimes (although rarely) be morally permissible. Ultimately, The Morality of Private War argues that the challenges posed by the use of PMSCs mean that we need to reconsider how military force ought to be organized and that we need to reform our thinking about the ethics of war and, in particular, Just War Theory. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Challenge of PMSCs 1

1.1 Acquiescence in Private Military Force 4

1.2 Four Themes 8

1.3 The Industry Outlined and Classified 15

1.4 The Road Ahead 23

Part I Individuals and Private Military Force

2 The Right to Be a Private Contractor 29

2.1 The Violation of Human Rights Objection 30

2.2 The Status Objection 32

2.3 The Mercenary Motives Objection 36

2.4 Conclusion 46

3 The Restrictions on Private Contractors 47

3.1 The Deferral View and Private Contractors 48

3.2 Individual Jus ad Bellum and the Individual-Centric Approach' 53

3.3 Objection 1: Regular Soldiers and the Deferral View 62

3.4 Objection 2: Is Pacifism Inevitable? 64

3.5 Preferring Private Contractors 65

3.6 Conclusion 67

Part II Employing Private Military Force

4 The Legitimacy of the State and Private Military and Security Companies 71

4.1 'The Cumulative Legitimacy Approach 73

4.2 PMSCs and the Cumulative Legitimacy Approach 84

4.3 Conclusion 114

5 The Alternative Arrangements of the Military 115

5.1 The Legitimacy of the State and the Social Contract 116

5.2 Conscription and the Cumulative Legitimacy Approach 118

5.3 The AVF and the Cumulative Legitimacy Approach 129

5.4 Disarmament 135

5.5 Conclusion 137

Part III The Privatization of Military Force and the International System

6 The Privatization of Military Force and the Constraints on War 141

6.1 The Formal Constraints Argument: PMSCs and the Regulation of Warfare 143

6.2 The Informal Constraints Argument: PMSCs and Judgements on War 153

6.3 Conclusion 158

7 Private Military Force, Insecurity, and Instability 159

7.1 The Insecurity Argument: The Problems of Distributing Security 159

7.2 The Instability Argument: The Market for Force and International Stability 166

7.3 Potential Positive Externalities 170

7.4 Conclusion 175

Part IV Implications and Reforms

8 Private Military Force in Practice 179

8.1 The Problems with Private Military Force 179

8.2 The Specific Use of PMSCs 185

8.3 Roles 187

8.4 Clients 189

8.5 Purposes 190

8.6 Conclusion 196

9 Reforms and Implications: Regulation, Reconstructing the Public Monopoly on Force, and Just War Theory 197

9.1 Regulating the Private Military and Security Industry 198

9.2 Reconstructing the Global Public Monopoly on Military Force 205

9.3 Reconsidering Just War Theory 220

9.4 Conclusion 226

10 Conclusion: Problems with the Market for Force 228

10.1 Market Problems with the Private Authorization of Military Force 229

10.2 Market Problems with the Private Provision of Military Force 231.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 233-251) and index.

ISBN:

9780199639700

0199639701

OCLC:

883866158