Security Beyond the State: Private Security in International Politics

by Rita Abrahamsen, Michael C. Williams

Across the globe, from mega-cities to isolated resource enclaves, the provision and governance of security takes place within assemblages that are de-territorialized in terms of actors, technologies, norms and discourses. They are embedded in a complex transnational architecture, defying conventional distinctions between public and private, global and local. Drawing on theories of globalization and late modernity, along with insights from criminology, political science and sociology, Security Beyond the State maps the emergence of the global private security sector and develops a novel analytical framework for understanding these global security assemblages. Through in-depth examinations of four African countries – Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and South Africa – it demonstrates how global security assemblages affect the distribution of social power, the dynamics of state stability, and the operations of the international political economy, with significant implications for who gets secured and how in a global era.

Genres: Politics

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Rita Abrahamsen is in the Department of International Relations, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting topic and I've learned quite a lot. However, the language is rather awful, which is a fault of many academics. Unfortunately, it seems that complex words and sentence structures are often employed to disguise lack of substantial academic contribution or, else, desire to sound smarter than you are, otherwise why would anyone consider you an expert? Anyway, the book could have been easily condensed into an article (a rather short one, I might add) and I rather wish it was.

[Caue Pimentel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Despite a few exaggerated arguments, it gives an incisive look at how security privatization is a important aspect of the contemporary world and its deep implications for sociology and power dynamics. Although the book is clearly directioned to international relations students, it embeds some interesting sociological references.