Mercenaries, Hybrid Armies and National Security
This book assesses the use of mercenaries by states, and their integration into the national armed forces as part of a new hybridisation trend of contemporary armies.
Governments, especially in the West, are undertaking an unprecedented wave of demilitarisation and military budget cuts. Simultaneously, these same governments are increasingly opening their armies up to foreign nationals and outsourcing military operations to private companies. This book explores the impact of this hybridisation on the values, cohesion and effectiveness of the armed forces by comparing and contrasting the experiences of the French Foreign Legion, private military companies in Angola, and the merging of private contractors and American troops in Iraq.
Examining the employment of foreign citizens and private security companies as military forces and tools of foreign policy, and their subsequent impact on the national armed forces, the book investigates whether the difficulties of coordinating soldiers of various nationalities and allegiances within public-private joint military operations undermines the legitimacy of the state. Furthermore, the author questions whether this trend for outsourcing security can realistically provide a long-term and positive contribution to national security.
This book will be of much interest to students of private military companies, strategic studies, international security and IR in general.
Caroline Varin is a lecturer at Regents University in London and has a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Series: LSE International Studies
Series Editors: John Kent, Christopher Coker, Dominic Lieven and Karen Smith
The International Studies series is based on the LSEs oldest research centre and like the LSE itself was established to promote interdisciplinary studies. The Centre for International Studies facilitates research into many different aspects of the international community and produces interdisciplinary research into the international system as it experiences the forces of globalisation. As the capacity of domestic change to produce global consequences increases, so does the need to explore areas which cannot be confined within a single discipline or area of study. The series hopes to focus on the impact of cultural changes on foreign relations, the role of strategy and foreign policy and the impact of international law and human rights on global politics. It is intended to cover all aspects of foreign policy, including the historical and contemporary forces of empire and imperialism, the importance of domestic links to the international roles of states and non-state actors, particularly in Europe, and the relationship between development studies, international political economy and regional actors on a comparative basis, but is happy to include any aspect of the international with an inter-disciplinary aspect.
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Mercenaries, Hybrid Armies and National Security
Private Soldiers and the State in the 21st Century
Caroline Varin
Mercenaries, Hybrid Armies and National Security
Private soldiers and the state in the 21st century
Caroline Varin
First published 2015
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
2015 Caroline Varin
The right of Caroline Varin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
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British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Varin, Caroline.
Mercenaries, hybrid armies and national security : private soldiers and the state in the 21st century / Caroline Varin.
pages cm (LSE international studies series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Mercenary troopsCase studies. 2. Private military companiesCase
studies. 3. Integrated operations (Military science)Case studies.
4. Armed forcesCase studies.5. Military art and scienceCase studies.
6. State, TheCase studies. 7. Military policyCase studies. I. Title.
U240.V37 2014
355.354dc23 2014012178
ISBN: 978-1-138-77948-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-77123-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Pour Nelly
This book has an impressive intellectual boldness and a striking theme: the hybridisation of the armed forces and its impact on the security of the state. One realises from a book like this that serious security studies must remain dependent not only on the political analysis of contemporary events but also on the insightful interpretation of history of just the kind that Varin supplies.
Professor Christopher Coker, London School of Economics
Contents
First and foremost, a heartfelt thank you to Christopher Coker for his invaluable support and friendship throughout this entire process.
To my father sans qui rien neut t.
To Chris Alden and the team at SAIIA, for their friendship, and for generously sharing office space, contacts and experience during my fieldwork in Johannesburg and Cape Town.
To those who read and commented on the early versions of this manuscript, Daniel, Chris, Claire-Marine, Calypso, Andrew and Ruben. I really appreciate your help and support!
And to the others, my friends and family: Mom, Aida, Michele, Miki and Marlen, Ian, Taty, Jo and Phillou, Steph and little Elysa thank you for being my inspiration in London and around the world!
BAPSC | British Association for Private Security Companies |