Have one to sell?

Sell on Amazon

Flip to back Flip to front

See all 2 images

Follow the author

Sean McFate

The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order Hardcover – 29 Jan. 2015

by Sean McFate (Author)

4.2 211 ratings

See all formats and editions

Amazon Price

New from

Used from

Kindle Edition

"Please retry"

£7.99

—

Hardcover

"Please retry"

—

£53.73

£33.64

Paperback

"Please retry"

£9.85

—

£9.85

Kindle Edition
£7.99 Read with Our Free App
Hardcover
from £31.95

4 Used from £33.64 1 New from £53.73 1 Collectible from £31.95
Paperback
£9.85

3 Used from £9.85

It was 2004, and Sean McFate had a mission in Burundi: to keep the president alive and prevent the country from spiraling into genocide without anyone knowing that the United States was involved. The United States was, of course, involved, but only through McFate's employer, the military contractor DynCorp International. Throughout Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, similar scenarios are playing out daily. The United States can no longer go to war or carry out covert operations without contractors. In 2010, the Pentagon's budget for private contractors was seven times the entire U.K. defense budget.

How did this state of affairs come to be? How does the shadowy world of military contracting actually operate? And what do trends suggest about the future of war and international relations? We simply don't know much about the structure of the industry, how private military companies operate, and where this industry is heading. Typically led by ex-military men, such firms are by their very nature secretive. Even the US government―the entity that actually pays them―knows relatively little.

In Private Armies, former industry insider Sean McFate lays bare the opaque world of private military contractors, explaining the economic structure of the industry and showing in detail how firms operate on the ground. As a former paratrooper and private military contractor, McFate provides an unparalleled perspective into the nuts and bolts of the industry, as well as a sobering prognosis for the future of war. While at present the U.S. government and U.S. firms dominate the market, private military companies are emerging from other countries, and warlords and militias have restyled themselves as private security companies in places like Afghanistan and Somalia. To understand how the proliferation of private forces may influence international relations, McFate looks back to the European Middle Ages, when mercenaries were common and contract warfare the norm. He concludes that international relations in the twenty-first century may have more in common with the twelfth century than the twentieth. This "back to the future" situation, which he calls neomedievalism, is not necessarily a negative condition, but it will produce a global system that contains rather than solves problems.

A decidedly non-polemical account (a rarity in this field), Private Armies is the first work that combines a broad-ranging theory of the phenomenon with an insider's understanding of what the world of the private military industry is actually like.

ISBN-10

0199360103
ISBN-13

978-0199360109
Publisher

OUP USA
Publication date

29 Jan. 2015
Language

English
Dimensions

23.37 x 2.54 x 16.26 cm
Print length

272 pages
See all details

Sean McFate
157
Paperback
26 offers from £0.52
462
Paperback
4 offers from £12.39
P. W. Singer
129
Paperback
23 offers from £5.54
Jeremy Scahill
715
Paperback
37 offers from £1.41
Harry McCallion
Hardcover
1 offer from £21.05
Robert Young Pelton
244
Paperback
8 offers from £1.66

Product description

Review

[The Modern Mercenary] is a highly provocative and enriching addition to the literature on the private military industry and stands apart from much contemporary scholarshipon the subject ... McFate does a good job interweaving a rich and easy-to-read historical analysis with his overall thesis, drawing fascinating parallels between our medieval pastcomplete with mercenaries, military entrepreneurs and privatized warfareand their post-modern contemporaries in an emerging neo-medieval present. (International Affairs)

Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand a new component of modern warfare. The prevalence of privatized military forces raises serious political, economic, and moral questions. In The Modern Mercenary, Sean McFate applies his years of experience as a US army paratrooper and private military contractor to explore these questions through invaluable case studies and penetrating analysis. (General Stanley A. McChrystal, co-founder, McChrystal Group)

The Modern Mercenary is an adrenalin-fueled jaunt through today's battlefields, where we find not just the armies of the state, but 'security professionals' whose considerable skills are available for hire. Writing from first-hand experience as a contractor in the field, Sean McFate helps us understand this complex world beyond the cartoon criticisms and film-inspired lore to see both the obvious dangers and the potential benefits provided by a shadowy industry. (Admiral James Stavridis, USN (Ret), Former Supreme Allied Commander at NATO and Dean, The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University)

The Iraq War and Blackwater may seem like yesterday's headlines, but the private military industry is still going strong. In The Modern Mercenary, a book powered by deep research and filled with fascinating details, Sean McFate deftly explores both the historic parallels of today's trade in military services for hire, and its likely future. (P.W. Singer, author of Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry and Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know)

McFate understands his subject from the inside. His excellent book shows convincingly the urgent need for our governments, and those who work for them, to grasp the consequences of their frequent use of private military companies before they lose control of them. (General Sir Rupert Smith KCB DSO OBE QGM)

Private Military Companies are now part of the security landscape. Sean McFate's thoughtful study of who they are, what they do and how governments interact with them will benefit all engaged in foreign policy, military activities and humanitarian efforts. (General Carter F. Ham, U.S. Army, Retired. Former Commander, U.S. Africa Command)

At last we have a serious academic study of the role of military contractors in the execution of modern warfare. The analysis of neo-medievalism and the privatization of conflict is especially thought-provoking - a must read for political leaders who are drawn into having to fight today's wars. (Sir Richard Dearlove KCMG OBE, Master, Pembroke College and former head of MI6)

McFate's persuasive, unsettling, and nonpolemical account describes the way PMSCs are changing the face of war. (Publishers Weekly)

A fascinating and disturbing book . . . Mr. McFate writes with an insider's knowledge . . . the worrying trends he describes make this book a powerful call to arms to those who do not want a world awash with mercenaries. (The Economist)

While making the case that contractors are a here-to-stay force, McFate points out that this has deep implications, both positive and negative, for modern warfare and international relations, and believes it's important to consider both sides. (The New York Post)

The Modern Mercenary is filled with fascinating stuff, and its bottom line is that there is no stopping the continuing development of the market for force. (Strategy and Business)

What McFate does best in this book is to add structure and sobriety to the discussion by classifying different types of mercenary services and firms, and to carefully and dispassionately lay out the arguments for and against a 'free market for force.' (Scholars and Rogues)

About the Author

Sean McFate is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and the National Defense University in Washington DC. He is also a social scientist at the RAND Corporation. Previously, he was a Program Manager for DynCorp International, a company that provides technical services for the US government, where he managed unique programs in Africa. He also served as a paratrooper in the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ OUP USA (29 Jan. 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0199360103
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0199360109
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 23.37 x 2.54 x 16.26 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,976,845 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 148 in Military History of Mercenaries
- 1,348 in Defence Strategy & Research
- 1,959 in Diplomacy

Customer reviews:
4.2 211 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Sean McFate

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

I’ve been a paratrooper in the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. A para-military contractor. An operative in the private intelligence world (think: Wall Street meets CIA). I’ve dealt with African warlords, raised armies for U.S. interest, rode with armed groups in the Sahara, conducted strategic reconnaissance for oil companies, transacted arms deals in Eastern Europe, and helped prevent an impending genocide in the Rwanda region. In between this, I earned degrees from Brown, Harvard, and a PhD from the London School of Economics.

Now I’m an author, my favorite job by far. I write about the world as I’ve witnessed it. Unlike most, I write both serious non-fiction and fiction. What I can’t discuss in my non-fiction ends up in my novels, which are like Tom Clancy for the 2020s.

You can learn more about me here http://www.seanmcfate.com and you can follow me on twitter or Instagram @seanmcfate. I appreciate your support, and answer emails from readers.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

211 global ratings

5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Dr Danczak

Return of Hawkwood?

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 August 2020

Verified Purchase

There is a key page in this book introducing the concept of neo medievalism, as coined by Hedley Bull. There are five essential tests, which at the end of the Cold War, did not apply but with the advance of technology, overarching institutions like NGO, UN, the breakdown of states often covered by the creation of supra state organisations giving cover to devolving and decentralising state powers and the return of private violence/mercenary armies which is consistent with disengagement of some states eg US from collectives and the assumptions of single state actions.

This book should be read in conjunction with McFates Goliath to gain a full oversight.

Helpful

Rob Roy

Insight into an important piece of puzzle shaping the modern world

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 February 2019

Verified Purchase

Well written and researched but not for the faint hearted. McFate skilfully combines first hand experience and academic rigour to reveal a world which, by his own admission, has been poorly researched. The title does it a bit of a disservice as the content provides a useful lens from which to view a number of modern geopolitical trends. It can be a little everygoing at times but this is more to the depth of detail and level of information to absorb than poor writing. The writer has a similar gift to Stieglitz and John Kay in being able to make a complex and often arcane subject accessible.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

M Harold Page

Informative, lively and well written

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 August 2015

Verified Purchase

This is NOT some adrenaline pumped book of anecdotes. It is however a supremely well-written and researched explanation of what it is that modern mercenaries do. If I had had this book back when I was trying to GM Traveller, it would have been a game changer.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Anne Ibrahim

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2015

Verified Purchase

very necessary information if you you want to know how the world really works today.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 July 2020

Verified Purchase

This book made me think about warfare, governments and the United Nations in new ways. It certainly has opened my eyes to issues that I had previously barely considered and has given me much to think about. It has made me challenge some of my own assumptions and beliefs which is always a good thing. A valuable read to anyone interested in global affairs, though I can see it being uncomfortable reading to some governments who have to live with the implications of private warfare. To anyone with an interest in cause and effect and on the flow of global affairs through time this book should offer a useful perspective.

Helpful

Amazon Music Stream millions of songs	AbeBooks Books, art & collectables	ACX Audiobook Publishing Made Easy	Amazon Web Services Scalable Cloud Computing Services

Audible Download Audiobooks	Book Depository Books With Free Delivery Worldwide	DPReview Digital Photography	Goodreads Book reviews & recommendations

Amazon Home Services Experienced pros Happiness Guarantee	IMDb Movies, TV & Celebrities	Kindle Direct Publishing Indie Digital & Print Publishing Made Easy	Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands

Amazon Warehouse Deep Discounts Open-Box Products	Amazon Business Service for business customers	Whole Foods Market We Believe in Real Food

Follow the author

The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order Hardcover – 29 Jan. 2015

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Product description

Review

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Sean McFate

Customer reviews

Top reviews from United Kingdom

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.