Corporate Warriors: The Privatized Military Industry

Abstract

One of the most interesting developments in both global security and international business over the last decade has been the rise of a new player that combines these fields: the private military industry. Privatized military firms (PMFs) are business organizations specializing in the provision of military skills. Rather than supply the goods of warfare, such as tanks or airplanes, these firms provide intelligence, strategic planning, operational support, troop training, and other services of warfare—including combat operations. It is the defense industry parallel to the wider movement from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. However, the PMF industry is important not just because it does as much as $100 billion in global business a year, but also because it represents a sea of change in the way security is conceived and realized.