Structure, Agency and Security

Abstract

Chapter 1 introduced the key concepts and arguments which give shape to the politics of private security. This chapter will address the theoretical assumptions on which these concepts and arguments ultimately rest. As they stand, these concepts and arguments take for granted a number of basic assumptions. These include: i) that there are state-centric political norms about how security ought to be delivered which serve to structure the actions of state and private security actors; ii) that there are a series of economic forces centred around shifts in supply and demand within the security sector which serve to structure the actions of state and private security actors; iii) that state actors have a significant degree of political agency in their interactions with the private security industry; and iv) that private security actors have a significant degree of political agency in their negotiations with the state.