This publication contributes to a growing body of literature on a phenomenon, the<br />privatization of the means of coercion, that manifests on the international strategic<br />landscape. Whether a phenomenon one agrees with, or not, private military and<br />security companies form an rising and real feature within the daily life of<br />individuals, communities and states of the international system. International,<br />regional and national security, as well as the security of the individual is<br />increasingly entwined in services provided by private military and security<br />contractors. The editors accordingly acknowledge that “… [the] astonishing growth<br />of private and security companies (PMSCs) is clearly one of the most noteworthy<br />developments in national and international security arrangements …”.<br />The content of the publication covers three fields of enquiry: ethics, policies and<br />law, and civil-military relations and stems from a research programme sponsored by<br />South African, Australian and Swiss institutions. At the heart of the publication<br />resides the inherent conflict and controversy between private contractors and the<br />challenge they bring to traditional views regarding the regulation and operation of<br />the control over force and its application. Inherently the publication attempts to<br />contribute to the debate on how to regulate or control a new way of employing and<br />controlling instruments of violence in the international system.