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Private Military Contractors as Criminals/Victims

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Abstract

Private military contractors (PMCs) are regularly labelled as ‘criminals’ (most commonly as mercenaries or violators of human rights), yet they are almost never labelled as ‘victims’ (of exploitative clients and corporations, for instance). The purpose of this chapter is to explore the relationship between these binary formulations. It argues (i) that while PMCs can be cast simultaneously as ‘criminals’ and ‘victims’, the sociological terrain upon which these labelling processes unfold is highly uneven, placing far more emphasis upon ‘criminal’ than ‘victim’; and (ii) that both labelling processes are further shaped by the iniquitous structure of the PMC labour market, with well-paid expats (Americans, Canadians, British) more likely to be cast as ‘criminals’ than low-paid third country nationals (Ugandans, Nepalese, Fijians) and local nationals (Afghans, Iraqis).

I would like to thank the editors for the invitation to contribute a chapter and for their helpful comments on an earlier draft. I would also like to express my gratitude to the Gerda Henkel Foundation for its generous financial support of my research on the private military industry.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In this chapter, the term ‘private military’ refers to individuals employed by private military companies—it does not refer to the companies themselves (as the term is sometimes used).

  2. 2.

    www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Mercenaries/WGMercenaries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Criminological Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

    Adam White

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  1. Adam White
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Liverpool, UK, LIVERPOOL, United Kingdom

    Ross McGarry

  2. Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, University of Liverpool, UK, Liverpool, United Kingdom

    Sandra Walklate

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White, A. (2016). Private Military Contractors as Criminals/Victims. In: McGarry, R., Walklate, S. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Criminology and War. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43170-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-43170-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-43169-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-43170-7

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