Introduction

… a state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force within a given territory Weber …the extent to which the state has a monopoly of physical force and the extent to which the use of physical force is legitimate are variables, not elements of a definition . Levi It is common sense that the control, sanctioning, and use of violence fall to states. Weber's definition of the state is the obvious starting point in most investigations and even those who argue that globalization and the rise of non-state actors have affected vast portions of the world's political arena generally assume that coercive power still resides with the state. Private security activity in the last two decades, though, should lay waste to this conventional wisdom. When the US won a resounding victory against the Iraqi Army in 2003, one out of every ten people it deployed to the theater during the conflict were employed by private security companies (PSCs) performing the work (logistics, operational support of weapons systems, and training) that used to be done by military personnel. As lawlessness followed the fall of the Iraqi government and coalition forces were stretched thin, an “army” of private security personnel flooded into the country. Some were hired by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to train the Iraqi police force, the Iraqi army, and a private Iraqi force to guard government facilities and oil fields.