Corporate Soldiers And International Security: The Rise of Private Military Companies

Jul 7, 2026

A comprehensive study of the rise of UK private military companies and their role in international security. Tracing the shift from nineteenth-century mercenary forces through Africa-based operations in the 1960s and early 1970s, it examines the emergence of legally established UK PMCs in the mid-1970s and early 1980s and their contemporary importance in post-conflict reconstruction. The analysis centers on drivers of change, the Sandline affair, impacts on security, and the challenges and advantages for organizations seeking private security.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages209

Reading Time8 h 47 min

Corporate Soldiers and International Security

From mercenaries to UK PMCs

The Sandline affair as a turning point

Impacts on international security

Problems and advantages of using PMCs

Academic and research context

CORPORATE SOLDIERS AND INTERNATIONAL SECURITY This book is the ﬁrst to explore comprehensively the rise of UK private military companies on the international stage. After illustrating early examples of private force, such as mercenary companies, which ﬁlled the ranks of European armies right up to the 1850s, Christopher Kinsey traces the development of UK private military companies (PMCs) from the mercenary organisations that operated in Africa in the 1960s and early 1970s, through to the start of the rise of legally established private military companies in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, to today’s private military companies which are now important contributors to international security and post-conﬂict reconstruction. This volume ﬁrst points to why and how the change from the mercenary organisations of the 1960s and 1970s came about. In particular it examines in some detail the Sandline affair, a crucial turning point in the industry’s history. It then analyses how PMCs have been able to impact upon international security. Finally, the book examines the type of problems, as well as advantages, that can arise for organisations that decide to turn to private military companies for their security requirements. This book will be of much interest to students of security, military studies and international relations in general. Christopher Kinsey is a lecturer in the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London, based at the Joint Services Command and Staff College. His research examines the impact of private security and international politics. He has published articles on the regulation and control of PSCs and more recently on their organisational stucture. CONTEMPORARY SECURITY STUDIES NATO’S SECRET ARMY Operation Gladio and terrorism in western Europe Daniel Ganser THE US, NATO AND MILITARY BURDEN-SHARING Peter Kent Forster and Stephen J. Cimbala RUSSIAN GOVERNANCE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Geo-strategy, geopolitics and new governance Irina Isakova THE FOREIGN OFFICE AND FINLAND 1938–1940 Diplomatic sideshow Craig Gerrard RETHINKING THE NATURE OF WAR Edited by Isabelle Duyvesteyn and Jan Angstrom PERCEPTION AND REALITY IN THE MODERN YUGOSLAV CONFLICT Myth, falsehood and deceit 1991–1995 Brendan O’Shea THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF PEACEBUILDING IN POST-DAYTON BOSNIA Tim Donais THE DISTRACTED EAGLE The rift between America and Old Europe Peter H. Merkl THE IRAQ WAR European perspectives on politics, strategy, and operations Edited by Jan Hallenberg and Håkan Karlsson STRATEGIC CONTEST Weapons proliferation and war in the greater Middle East Richard L. Russell PROPAGANDA, THE PRESS AND CONFLICT The Gulf War and Kosovo David R. Willcox MISSILE DEFENCE International, regional and national implications Edited by Bertel Heurlin and Sten Rynning GLOBALISING JUSTICE FOR MASS ATROCITIES A revolution in accountability Chandra Lekha Sriram ETHNIC CONFLICT AND TERRORISM The origins and dynamics of civil wars Joseph L. Soeters GLOBALISATION AND THE FUTURE OF TERRORISM Patterns and predictions Brynjar Lia NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND STRATEGY The evolution of American nuclear policy Stephen J. Cimbala NASSER AND THE MISSILE AGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST Owen L. Sirrs WAR AS RISK MANAGEMENT Strategy and conﬂict in an age of globalised risks Yee-Kuang Heng MILITARY NANOTECHNOLOGY Potential applications and preventive arms control Jurgen Altmann NATO AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION Regional alliance, global threats Eric R. Terzuolo EUROPEANISATION OF NATIONAL SECURITY IDENTITY The EU and the changing security identities of the Nordic states Pernille Rieker INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE-BUILDING Sustaining the peace in post conﬂict societies Edited by T. David Mason and James D. Meernik CONTROLLING THE WEAPONS OF WAR Politics, persuasion, and the prohibition of inhumanity Brian Rappert CHANGING TRANSATLANTIC SECURITY RELATIONS Do the US, the EU and Rus

FAQs

How does the book explain the transition from mercenary organizations to UK private military companies?

It points to why and how the shift from 1960s and 1970s mercenary organizations occurred, tracing developments across earlier private force models and institutional changes leading to legally established UK PMCs.

What role does the Sandline affair play in the industry’s history?

The book treats the Sandline affair as a crucial turning point, examining it in detail to understand developments within the private military industry.

What kinds of effects do PMCs have on international security, and what trade-offs do they introduce for client organizations?

It analyzes how PMCs can impact international security and then evaluates the types of problems and advantages that may arise when organizations use private military companies for security requirements.

Jul 7, 2026

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