The Market for Force: Privatization of Security and Its Implication.

Join the Department of Sociology & Anthropology and Global Studies for a talk by Ori Swed, associate professor of sociology and director of the Peace, War, & Social Conflict Laboratory at Texas Tech University.

In the past 20 years, the privatization of security has transformed from a fringe phenomenon into a preferred tool for governments and militaries. Join us for an in-depth exploration of the privatization of security, tracing the rise and global expansion of the private military and security sector. This lecture will examine the implications of outsourcing security functions to private actors and its impact on state sovereignty and conflict dynamics. The lecture will explain how private security companies operate in contemporary conflicts and the challenges they pose to traditional understandings of military power.

Ori Swed's research studies emerging trends in security, examining the privatization of military and security functions, the usage of drone technology by violent nonstate actor, illicit arms trafficking, terrorism, and cyber warfare.

Sponsored by the Global Studies Interdisciplinary Program, Department of Sociology & Anthropology, and School of Arts & Sciences.