Corporate warriors : the rise of the privatized military industry / P.W. Singer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Singer, P. W. (Peter Warren)

Series:

Cornell studies in security affairs.

Cornell studies in security affairs

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Defense industries.

Military-industrial complex.

Privatization.

Defense industries--United States.

Military-industrial complex--United States.

Privatization--United States.

United States--Military policy.

United States.

Physical Description:

xi, 348 p. : ill., map.

Edition:

Updated ed.

Other Title:

Rise of the privatized military industry

Place of Publication:

Ithaca, N.Y. : Cornell University Press, c2008.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Some have claimed that "War is too important to be left to the generals," but P. W. Singer asks "What about the business executives?" Breaking out of the guns-for-hire mold of traditional mercenaries, corporations now sell skills and services that until recently only state militaries possessed. Their products range from trained commando teams to strategic advice from generals. This new "Privatized Military Industry" encompasses hundreds of companies, thousands of employees, and billions of dollars in revenue. Whether as proxies or suppliers, such firms have participated in wars in Africa, Asia, the Balkans, and Latin America. More recently, they have become a key element in U.S. military operations. Private corporations working for profit now sway the course of national and international conflict, but the consequences have been little explored.In Corporate Warriors, Singer provides the first account of the military services industry and its broader implications. Corporate Warriors includes a description of how the business works, as well as portraits of each of the basic types of companies: military providers that offer troops for tactical operations; military consultants that supply expert advice and training; and military support companies that sell logistics, intelligence, and engineering.This updated edition of Singer's already classic account of the military services industry and its broader implications describes the continuing importance of that industry in the Iraq War. This conflict has amply borne out Singer's argument that the privatization of warfare allows startling new capabilities and efficiencies in the ways that war is carried out. At the same time, however, Singer finds that the introduction of the profit motive onto the battlefield raises troubling questions-for democracy, for ethics, for management, for human rights, and for national security.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

Part I. The Rise

1. An Era of Corporate Warriors?

2. Privatized Military History

3. The Privatized Military Industry Distinguished

4. Why Security Has Been Privatized

Part II. Organization and Operation

5. The Global Industry of Military Services

6. The Privatized Military Industry Classified

7. The Military Provider Firm: Executive Outcomes

8. The Military Consultant Firm: MPRI

9. The Military Support Firm: Brown & Root

Part III. Implications

10. Contractual Dilemmas

11. Market Dynamism and Global Disruptions

12. Private Firms and the Civil-Military Balance

13. Public Ends, Private Military Means?

14. Morality and the Privatized Military Firm

15. Conclusions

Postscript

The Lessons of Iraq

Appendix 1. PMFs on the Web

Appendix 2. PMF Contract

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Aug 2019)

Originally published 2003 by Cornell University Press.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

0-8014-8915-6

0-8014-5989-3

OCLC:

987941677