Colloquium Series: Joseph Bongiovi

“Hammer and Anvil:  Institutionalization of Private Security”

Although outsourcing and privatization are becoming more prevalent, it is still surprising that this has extended to a military and security arena previously considered to be the monopoly of the state.  Private military and security companies have acted on new opportunities in novel and disruptive ways.  When excesses in the 2000’s put these new approaches in jeopardy, both public and private sector entities responded by establishing new institutional norms which are heavily reliant on self- governance mechanisms.  Using evidence from in depth interviews, participation in industry association events and other first- hand experience, this study explains how these changes came about, as well as their implications.