George Andreopoulos – författare

Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have constituted a perennial feature of the security landscape. Yet, it is their involvement in and conduct during the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have transformed the outsourcing of security services into such a pressing public policy and world-order issue. The PMSCs’ ubiquitous presence in armed conflict situations, as well as in post-conflict reconstruction, their diverse list of clients (governments in the developed and developing world, non-state armed groups, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and international corporations) and, in the context of armed conflict situations, involvement in instances of gross misconduct, have raised serious accountability issues. The prominence of PMSCs in conflict zones has generated critical questions concerning the very concept of security and the role of private force, a rethinking of "essential governmental functions," a rearticulation of the distinction between public/private and global/local in the context of the creation of new forms of "security governance," and a consideration of the relevance, as well as limitations, of existing regulatory frameworks that include domestic and international law (in particular international human rights law and international humanitarian law).

This book critically examines the growing role of PMSCs in conflict and post-conflict situations, as part of a broader trend towards the outsourcing of security functions. Particular emphasis is placed on key moral, legal, and political considerations involved in the privatization of such functions, on the impact of outsourcing on security governance, and on the main challenges confronting efforts to hold PMSCs accountable through a combination of formal and informal, domestic as well as international, regulatory mechanisms and processes. It will be of interest to scholars, policymakers, practitioners and advocates for a more transparent and humane security order.

This book was published as a special issue of Criminal Justice Ethics.

Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) have constituted a perennial feature of the security landscape. Yet, it is their involvement in and conduct during the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that have transformed the outsourcing of security services into such a pressing public policy and world-order issue. The PMSCs’ ubiquitous presence in armed conflict situations, as well as in post-conflict reconstruction, their diverse list of clients (governments in the developed and developing world, non-state armed groups, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, and international corporations) and, in the context of armed conflict situations, involvement in instances of gross misconduct, have raised serious accountability issues. The prominence of PMSCs in conflict zones has generated critical questions concerning the very concept of security and the role of private force, a rethinking of "essential governmental functions," a rearticulation of the distinction between public/private and global/local in the context of the creation of new forms of "security governance," and a consideration of the relevance, as well as limitations, of existing regulatory frameworks that include domestic and international law (in particular international human rights law and international humanitarian law).

This book critically examines the growing role of PMSCs in conflict and post-conflict situations, as part of a broader trend towards the outsourcing of security functions. Particular emphasis is placed on key moral, legal, and political considerations involved in the privatization of such functions, on the impact of outsourcing on security governance, and on the main challenges confronting efforts to hold PMSCs accountable through a combination of formal and informal, domestic as well as international, regulatory mechanisms and processes. It will be of interest to scholars, policymakers, practitioners and advocates for a more transparent and humane security order.

This book was published as a special issue of Criminal Justice Ethics.

This book critically assesses the impact of Richard A. Falk’s scholarship, which has spanned nearly six decades and addressed key issues at the intersections of international law and relations.

Falk has offered powerful insights on the nature and reach of international law, international relations, and the structure of their respective processes in order to assess the main challenges to the creation of a just "world order," the path-breaking concept which he has helped to develop. Continuing in the critical spirit that has informed Richard’s work as a scholar and a public intellectual, this book reflects a multiplicity of perspectives and approaches in the analysis and assessment of these selected themes.

This volume looks at four key themes of Falk’s work:

• International Law and International Relations Theories and Concepts

• War, Peace, and Human Security

• Social and Political Justice, and

• The Scholar as Citizen and Activist

This will be a useful book for scholars and students of international law, global governance, political theory, and international relations theory, and for those studying human security, international organizations, and transnational activism.

This book critically assesses the impact of Richard A. Falk’s scholarship, which has spanned nearly six decades and addressed key issues at the intersections of international law and relations.

Falk has offered powerful insights on the nature and reach of international law, international relations, and the structure of their respective processes in order to assess the main challenges to the creation of a just "world order," the path-breaking concept which he has helped to develop. Continuing in the critical spirit that has informed Richard’s work as a scholar and a public intellectual, this book reflects a multiplicity of perspectives and approaches in the analysis and assessment of these selected themes.

This volume looks at four key themes of Falk’s work:

• International Law and International Relations Theories and Concepts

• War, Peace, and Human Security

• Social and Political Justice, and

• The Scholar as Citizen and Activist

This will be a useful book for scholars and students of international law, global governance, political theory, and international relations theory, and for those studying human security, international organizations, and transnational activism.

In recent years, justice-related and human rights issues have figured more and more prominently on the international political agenda. This expansion of the justice space is a product of a growing demand for accountability in world politics. Whether the issue is addressing heinous crimes such as genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in situations of armed conflict, confronting the inability or reluctance of governments to protect their own populations, or responding to the challenges posed by transnational terrorism; the international community has witnessed the proliferation of institutions and mechanisms, as well as the dynamic interplay between domestic and international processes, in the pursuit of justice-sensitive outcomes. International and hybrid tribunals, UN-led and domestic counter-terrorist initiatives, and the use of force for human protection purposes have demarcated the space within which ethical, political, and legal debates have unfolded in the quest for a more humane world order.

The contributors of International Criminal Justice: Theoretical and Legal Perspectives address some of the most important issues and debates involved in this quest, and assess the merits of contending approaches to the promotion of international justice norms. This volume will contribute to the ongoing debate on the challenges, as well as opportunities, facing the justice agenda in its effort to shape developments in an increasingly interdependent world.

The book assesses how, in this ever-evolving global space, norms and rules are constantly being challenged and new technologies are altering the scope and uses of political power. Chapters explore these reconfigurations of authority, power, and territoriality, critically analysing the implications of the rise of multiple states as powerful actors in the international system, dissecting the dominant discourse on the securitization of migration and displacement, and assessing the growing divide between legality and legitimacy in world politics. In demonstrating how expectations of legitimacy in governance structures and processes have become more pronounced, the book ultimately exposes the limitations in the transformative potential of the liberal international order.

Offering interdisciplinary perspectives on critical world order challenges, this wide-ranging book is an essential resource for scholars of international relations, international law, political theory, critical security studies, and migration studies. It will also be of particular interest to practitioners working in intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations.