From Mercenaries to Market: The Rise and Regulation of Private Military Companies

Frequently characterized as either mercenaries in modern guise or the market's response to a security vacuum, private military companies are commercial firms offering military services ranging from combat and military training and advice to logistical support, and play an increasingly important role in armed conflicts, UN peace operations, and providing security in unstable states.

As private military companies assume more responsibilities in conflict and post-conflict settings, their growing significance raises fundamental questions about their nature, their role in different regions and contexts, and their regulation. This volume examines the interaction between regulation and market forces and analyzes the current legal framework and the needs and possibilities for regulation in the years ahead.


Author: Simon Chesterman
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Published: 03/25/2009
Pages: 275
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 9.10h x 6.10w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9780199563890

About the Author

Simon Chesterman is Global Professor and Director of the New York University School of Law Singapore Programme, and Vice Dean and Professor of Law at the National University of Singapore. His books include You, The People: The United Nations, Transitional Administration, and State-Building (Oxford University Press, 2004) and Just War or Just Peace? Humanitarian Intervention and International Law (Oxford University Press, 2001).

Chia Lehnardt is a research fellow at Humbolt University in Berlin. From 2005-2006 she was responsible for the research project on private military companies at the Institute for International Law and Justice (IILJ), New York University School of Law. Educated in Berlin, Oxford, Florence, and New York, she has previously worked as a consultant to the IILJ, at the German Federal Parliament, and with a law firm specializing in public law.

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