Return of the hired gun
How private armies will remake modern warfare
The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order. By Sean McFate.Oxford University Press; 248 pages; $29.95 and £19.99. Buy from Amazon.com; Amazon.co.uk
IN THE pirate-infested waters off the coast of Somalia around 180 private military contractors from 35 countries work to protect international shipping. They cost as little as a tenth of the official protection provided by the governments of France, Holland and Spain. Yet they can deploy lethal force and have proved very effective; they have even formed an industry group, the Security Association for the Maritime Industry, to represent their interests.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline "Return of the hired gun"
Culture January 10th 2015
From the January 10th 2015 edition
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