ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws on the works of a diverse group of scholars whose research covers a broad range of topics on security privatisation. The Routledge Research Companion aims to provide a broad overview of, and introduction to, an evolving field of research that can generally be described as dealing with different forms of private or commercial forms of security provision. The increasing reliance on the market for military support and security services has deep and lasting consequences that extend not only beyond individual countries to the international community, but also reaching past traditional clients of private security to include non-traditional clients such as Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), transnational businesses and international organisations. This dependency is having a profound impact on how conflicts of all types are managed in the international system.
