1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910796324603321

Autore

Thomson Andrew

Titolo

Outsourced empire : how militias,mercenaries, and contractors support US statecraft / / Andrew Thomson

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London : , : Pluto Press, , 2018

ISBN

1-78680-263-5

1-78680-262-7

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (198 pages)

Disciplina

325.32

Soggetti

Imperialism

Mercenary troops - United States

Paramilitary forces - United States

United States Foreign relations

États-Unis Relations extérieures

United States

USA

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Nota di contenuto

US imperial statecraft and para-institutional forces -- Covert regime change in the early Cold War : "power moves involved in the overthrow of an unfriendly government" -- Counterinsurgent statecraft : militias, mercenaries, and contractors -- Reagan, low-intensity conflict, and the expansion of para-institutional statecraft -- Continuity after the Cold War and the consolidation of para-institutional complexes -- The War on Terror, irregular warfare, and the global projection of force.

Sommario/riassunto

Rethinks the history of US imperialism, from the Cold War to today, to reveal how paramilitaries, militias, mercenaries, private armies, and contractors have always been central to US-sponsored insurgencies and US counterinsurgent statecraft. Examining a broad range of events from the Bay of Pigs to the occupation of Iraq, and from the Soviet-Afghan war to the ongoing conflict in Syria, Thomson offers an analysis of the evolution of US support for various para-institutional actors or non-state armed forces. He demonstrates how and why militias, mercenaries, and private military companies have increasingly formed a



central part of US imperial strategies designed to influence political and economic conditions abroad. Drawing on declassified documents including military training manuals, CIA communiques, and national security documents, Thomson reveals new evidence that helps us understand these institutions and their collective role in maintaining global order. --From publisher description.