Andrew Alexandra is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne

Deane-Peter Baker is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Ethics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, and is also Director of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Strategic Studies Group.

Marina Caparini is Senior Fellow in DCAF's Research Division, where she works on issues of accountability and oversight of the security sector.

Introduction: The Ethics and Governance of Private Military and Security Companies Andrew Alexandra, Deane-Peter Baker and Marina Caparini Part 1: Ethics 1. What Are Mercenaries? Uwe Steinhoff 2. Of 'Mercenaries' and Prostitutes: Can Private Warriors be Ethical? Deane-Peter Baker 3. Regulating Anarchy: The Ethics of PMCs in Global Civil Society Mervyn Frost 4. Benevolence, Honourable Soldiers, and Private Military Companies: Reformulating Just War Theory Joseph Runzo 5. Private Security Companies and Corporate Social Responsibility Christopher Kinsey Part 2: Policies and Law 6. Mars Meets Mammon Andrew Alexandra 7. Private Military Companies: Markets, Ethics, Economics Jurgen Brauer 8. Ruthless Humanitarianism: Why Marginalizing Private Peacekeeping Kills People Doug Brooks and Matan Chorev 9. Private Security Companies and Intelligence Provision Dominick Donald 10. Private Actors and the Governance of Security in West Africa Ade Ebo 11. Private Military/Security Companies: The Status of their Staff and their Obligations under International Humanitarian Law and the Responsibilities of States in Relation to their Operations Emanuela-Chiara Gillard 12. Regulating Private Military and Security Companies: The U.S. Approach Marina Caparini Part 3: Civil-Military Relations 13. Privatization of Security, International Interventions and the Democratic Control of Armed Forces Herbert Wulf 14. Privatized Peace? Assessing the Interplay between States, Humanitarians, and Private Security Companies Christopher Spearin 15. The Military and the Community: Comparing National Military Forces and Private Military Companies Jessica Wolfendale 16. Interface Ethics: Military Forces and Private Military Companies Asa Kasher 17. The New Model Soldier and Civil-Military Relations Elke Krahmann

Over the past twenty years, Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have become significant elements of national security arrangements, assuming many of the functions that have traditionally been undertaken by state armies. Given the centrality of control over the use of coercive force to the functioning and identity of the modern state, and to international order, these developments clearly are of great practical and conceptual interest.
This edited volume provides an interdisciplinary overview of PMSCs: what they are, why they have emerged in their current form, how they operate, their current and likely future military, political, social and economic impact, and the moral and legal constraints that do and should apply to their operation. The book focuses firstly upon normative issues raised by the development of PMSCs, and then upon state regulation and policy towards PMSCs, examining finally the impact of PMSCs on civil-military relations. It takes an innovative approach, bringing theory and empirical research into mutually illuminating contact. Includes contributions from experts in IR, political theory, international and corporate law, and economics, and also breaks important new ground by including philosophical discussions of PMSCs.