Séminaire Asie 5/AAMO « Money for Mayhem : Mercenaries, Private Military Companies, Drones, and the Future of War»
Mardi 10 juin 2025
Séminaire Asie 5/AAMO
Presentation of ARDUINO Alessandro’s book,
« Money for Mayhem : Mercenaries, Private Military Companies, Drones, and the Future of War»
(with a special focus on Chinese security companies)
Amphi Lacoste | Mardi 10 juin de 10h à 12h
The way war is waged is evolving quickly--igniting the rapid rise of private military contractors who offer military-style services as part of their core business model. When private actors take up state security, their incentives are not to end war and conflict but to manage the threat only enough to remain relevant. Alessandro Arduino unpacks the tradeoffs involved when conflict is increasingly waged by professional outfits that thrive on chaos rather than national armies. This book charts the rise of private military actors from Russia, China, and the Middle East highlighting the specific characteristics of these companies, using primary source data, in-person interviews, and field research amongst operations in conflict zones around the world. Arduino concludes by considering today's trajectories in the deployment of mercenaries by states, corporations, or even terrorist organizations and what it will mean for the future of conflict.
Bio : Alessandro Arduino PhD is an affiliate lecturer at Lau China Institute, King’s College London, a visiting professor at Geneva Graduate Institute and a member of the Advisory Group of the International Code of Conduct Associations for private security companies. Previously he served as a China expert for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Italian Consulate General in Shanghai, co-director of the Security and Crisis Management International Center at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), and a principal research fellow at the Middle East Institute – National University of Singapore (NUS).