Suchergebnisse

Ever since the French Revolution and the rise of national armies, the mercenary has been viewed as a maligned and marginalized actor in international relations. 'The Mercenary' challenges this view, suggesting instead that while delegated to the periphery of Great Power politics, the mercenary remained a coercive instrument of state power who was willing to discretely promote the client's foreign policy when called upon to do so. Never has this been more evident than today. This book offers fresh insight into the future of the mercenary as an instrument of state coercion and explains why there is a mercenary renaissance in the 21st century.

Ever since the French Revolution and the rise of national armies, the mercenary has been viewed as a maligned and marginalized actor in international relations. 'The Mercenary' challenges this view, suggesting instead that while delegated to the periphery of Great Power politics, the mercenary remained a coercive instrument of state power who was willing to discretely promote the client's foreign policy when called upon to do so. Never has this been more evident than today. This book offers fresh insight into the future of the mercenary as an instrument of state coercion and explains why there is a mercenary renaissance in the 21st century.

"This book is the first to explore comprehensively the rise of UK private military companies on the international stage."--Jacket

Since the end of the Cold War, policymakers and academics alike have examined in great detail every aspect of military operations apart from military contracting. This article surveys key issues that confront United Kingdom (UK) policymakers. It engages with and updates the secondary sources to explain the evolution, role, and implications of military outsourcing for UK overseas operations in the twenty-first century. It explores the politics, rationale, and consequences of outsourcing technical and support services to expeditionary operations. This article provides a framework for a discussion that is becoming increasingly urgent given the UK military's increasing dependence on military contractors to generate fighting and support capabilities on operations. It proceeds in two steps. First, it traces the evolution of military contracting, identifying the different political and economic drivers behind the decision to engage technical and support contractors on operations. Second, it discusses the future implications for the UK military of this decision.