The Market for Force
The Consequences of Privatizing Security

In this book Deborah Avant examines the privatization of security and its impact on the control of force.

Deborah D. Avant (Author)

9780521615358, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 25 July 2005

328 pages, 7 tables
22.8 x 15.4 x 2.1 cm, 0.48 kg

'Avant has performed a great service. There is much hype and hyperbole regarding the growth of private security forces, with many suggesting that these are warriors running wild. By sifting through the evidence and deploying a range of organizational theories, Avant generates develops a nuanced understanding of this sector, identifying how these forces are controlled and alerting us to when and where there remain legitimate concerns. Avant tackles the interesting development of the privatization of security. Over the last several decades privatization has moved into the security theater with substantial force. This is fascinating for theoretical, political, and normative reasons. The monopolization of the means of violence is a defining feature of the state and distinguishes the modern sovereign state from organizational rivals. Yet we find that states are knowingly and gladly devolving control. Why they should do this, and with what consequences, is important and fascinating. Avant wants to examine the consequences by examining the impact on state control. Toward that end, she unpacks the functional areas in which security is being privatized and considers different areas of state control. To illustrate these claims, she examines three cases of state privatization and non-state actors hiring private security forces to provide different functions. The implications of these developments for how politics is now being played out, who controls the means of force, and democratic accountability, are tremendous.' Michael N. Barnett, University of Minnesota

The legitimate use of force is generally presumed to be the realm of the state. However, the flourishing role of the private sector in security over the last twenty years has brought this into question. In this book Deborah Avant examines the privatization of security and its impact on the control of force. She describes the growth of private security companies, explains how the industry works, and describes its range of customers – including states, non-government organisations and commercial transnational corporations. She charts the inevitable trade-offs that the market for force imposes on the states, firms and people wishing to control it, suggests a new way to think about the control of force, and offers a model of institutional analysis that draws on both economic and sociological reasoning. The book contains case studies drawn from the US and Europe as well as Africa and the Middle East.

1. Introduction
2. Private security and the control of force
3. State capacity and contracting for security
4. Dilemmas in state regulation of private security exports
5. Private financing for security and the control of force
6. Market mechanisms and the diffusion of control over force
7. Conclusion
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ], Political economy [KCP], Politics & government [JP]