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.

This new book illustrates how democracy cannot develop or endure unless military and security forces are under the full control of democratic institutions, and all the necessary safeguards, checks and balances are in place.
The contributors show how contemporary European states manage the following issue: how does a society, primarily through its legitimate, democratically elected political leaders and their appointed officials, control the military, that same state institution that has been established for its protection and wields the monopoly of legitimate force?
Twenty-eight case studies are selected from key countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Georgia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, and the Ukraine. The key subjects of these cases vary from corruption to military incompetence, disobedience towards civilian superiors, to unauthorized strikes and accidents. The focus is on the relationship between political, civilian and military actors while identifying problems and dangers that can emerge in those relations to the detriment of effective and legitimate democratic control.
This is essential reading for students of civil-military relations, democratization, European politics and security studies in general.

Democracy is unlikely to develop or to endure unless military and other security forces are controlled by democratic institutions and necessary safeguards, checks and balances are in place.
The result of a 2-year research project managed under the auspices of the European Group on Armed Forces and Society (ERGOMAS) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF), this comparative study examines how contemporary European states, both mature Western democracies and emerging democracies of post-communist Europe, manage the issue of how best to control the very institution that has been established for their protection and wields the monopoly of legitimate force.
This volume contains 28 case studies from 14 countries: the Czech Republic, Germany, Georgia, France, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia and Montenegro, Switzerland, and the Ukraine. The studies cover a variety of situation from corruption to military incompetence, disobedience towards civilian superiors, lack of expertise among civilians, to unauthorized strikes and accidents. They focus on the relationship between political, civilian and military actors while identifying problems and dangers that can emerge in those relations to the detriment of effective and legitimate democratic control.
This book will be of much interest to students of Civil-Military Relations, military sociology, IR and strategic studies.

Over the past twenty years, private military companies (PMCs) have become significant elements of national security arrangements, assuming many of the functions that have traditionally been undertaken by state armies. The emergence of PMCs reflects changes wrought by broad geo-political forces, in particular the end of the Cold War, the widespread emergence of internal conflicts throughout the developing world, and the triumph of neo-liberalism among the policy elites of many Western nations. They have rapidly become big business: according to some estimates, they have been the most rapidly growing sector of the international economy over the past decade with an annual turnover well in excess of $US100 billion.

This book provides an interdisciplinary overview of PMCs: 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 operations. It is divided into two sections:

• normative/ethical issues raised by the development of PMCs
• function and regulation, and their relationships with other institutions.

Private Military Companies will be of much interest to students of private military companies, international security and politics and international relations.

The events of September 11, 2001 sharply revived governmental and societal anxieties in many democratic countries concerning the threats posed by terrorism, organized crime, the proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction, and other complex security threats. In many countries, public discourse of subjects traditionally considered part of social policy, such as immigration and asylum, have been securitized, while intelligence services have been granted greater resources and expanded powers. This comprehensive volume discusses the various challenges of establishing and maintaining accountable and democratically controlled intelligence services, drawing both from states with well-established democratic systems and those emerging from authoritarian systems and in transition towards democracy. It adopts a multidisciplinary and comparative approach, identifying good practices to make security services accountable to society and its democratic representatives. The volume will engage both academics and practitioners in the discussion of how to anchor these vital yet inherently difficult to control institutions within a firmly democratic framework. As such, it has clear relevance for these concerned with the control and oversight of intelligence and security issues in many countries.

This collection of articles discusses the challenges confronting journalists when reporting on the safety, security, and justice needs of society, and the related issues of public interest regarding state efforts to serve and manage those needs. The articles reflect on the experiences of journalists who have worked in a variety of conflict-affected or transitional environments around the world. Their insights highlight the critical roles played by journalists when informing and educating citizens, holding governments and those in power accountable, and helping to rebuild communities shattered by conflict.

Against the background of globalization, borders have not only become increasingly permeable but also have conceptually evolved and have become important security issues on national and global agendas. In large parts of the world, particularly in Europe and North America, borders are no more national defence lines but a supranational space crucial in combating perceived threats from transnational organised crime, international terrorism, and unregulated migration. At the same time, the means and mechanisms of accountability of the state organs responsible for border management must respond to the realities if they are to be effective and legitimate. The contributors of this book provide insights on comparative border control developments in North America and in Europe, changes in risks and threats at the borders, and the extension of border protection functions to a variety of actors that increasingly include private and corporate companies. The first part of the book provides a discussion of the key themes and issues concerning border management. The second part offers comprehensive studies on recent developments in the European Union border management regime, followed in the third part of the book by case studies on transnational crime, terrorism, and interagency cooperation in the NAFTA region.

"Marina Caparini" is senior fellow at the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). "Otwin Marenin" is professor of political science and criminal justice at Washington State University.

Police reform in countries in transition from state socialism toward more democratic forms of governance has risen to prominence in recent years. Reforming policing systems that served primarily to protect the party-states from their opponents into systems that serve and protect civic society has come to be seen as an essential prerequisite and concomitant of the democratization process in transitional countries. This book describes what has happened to the policing systems in fourteen countries in central and eastern Europe; what reforms in ideology, organization, policies and practices have been undertaken; what has changed in the way policing is accomplished; and an assessment of whether the policing system has moved closer toward democratic policing. As such, it provides a comparative overview of what has been achieved since 1989.
"Marina Caparini" is senior fellow at the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. "Otwin Marenin" is professor in the Department of Political Science/Criminal Justice, Washington State University.