Introduction. Sociology and the Privatization of Security and Military Affairs; Thomas Crosbie, University of Maryland, College Park, USA and Ori Swed, University of Texas at Austin, USA

Part I. Examining the Trend 1. Why Privatize: The Reasons to Buy, Rent, or Create Private Militaries From Feudal Europe to the Era of American Decline; Richard Lachmann, SUNY Albany, USA

1. From Mercenaries to Private Patriots: Nationalism and the Private Military Contractors; Sinisa Malesevic, University College, Dublin, Ireland

2. Limited Commitments and the Limits of Legitimacy: Examining the Social Positions of Private Military and Security Companies; Eric Schoon, Ohio State University, USA, and Michael T. Englehart, Ohio State University, USA

Part II. Privatization and the State's Monopoly on Violence 4. The Expansion of the U.S. Military's Civilian Periphery and Corresponding Changes in U.S. Military Law; Daniel Alton Burland, The University of Saint Mary, USA

1. Reserves Forces as the 'Privatization' of the Military by the Nation State; K. Neil Jenkings, Newcastle University, Australia, Antonia Dawes, University of Bristol, UK, Timothy Edmunds, University of Bristol, UK, Paul Higate, University of Bristol, UK, Rachel Woodward, Newcastle University, Australia

2. Making Markets Responsible: The Regulation of the Use of Force in Global Conflicts; Anna Leander, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark

Part III: The State and the Contractors 7. Gendered Companies, Gendered Security; Lisa A. Leitz, Chapman University, USA 8. 'We guard billions but we are paid peanuts': Black workers in the South African Private Security Industry; Andy Clarno, University of Illinois at Chicago, USA 9. Who are the Contractors?; Bryan Stephens, University of Texas at Austin, USA, John Sibley Butler, University of Texas at Austin, USA

1. Trendlines: Privatization and the Future of War and Security; Ori Swed, University of Texas at Austin, USA and Thomas Crosbie, University of Maryland, College Park, USA