Ori Swed is Assistant Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Texas Tech University, USA, where he is also Director of the Peace, War, & Social Conflict Lab. His research focuses on the role of non-state actors in conflict and security.Thomas Crosbie is Assistant Professor of Military Operations at the Royal Danish Defence College, Denmark. His research focuses the linked themes of military politics, the professionalization of security, the privatization of security and the operational level of war.

• 1. Introduction.- 2. Why Privatize: The Reasons Rulers Today Buy, Rent, or Create Private Militaries.- 3. From Mercenaries to Private Patriots: Nationalism and the Private Military Contractors.- 4. Legitimacy Building in Policy and Practice: The Case of US Private Military and Security Contractors (PMSC) in Afghanistan.- 5. The Expansion of the U.S. Military's Civilian Periphery and Corollary Progressive Changes in U.S. Military Law.- 6. Reserves Forces and the Privatization of the Military by the Nation State.- 7. Making Markets Responsible: Revisiting the State’s Monopoly on the Legitimate Use of Force.- 8. Gendered Companies, Gendered Security.- 9. The Specter and Labor of the Black Poor in South Africa’s Private Security Industry.- 10. Who are the Private Military and Security Contractors? A window to a new profession.- 11. Trendlines: Privatization and the Future of War and Security.