Unpacking the Private Military Complex

David Isenberg

THE LONG SHADOW OF THE SWORD-FOR-HIRE

“Ramesses II fought the Battle of Kadesh with Sherden mercenaries in his personal guard — men recruited, by most reconstructions, from what’s now the eastern Mediterranean, fighting for Egypt’s pharaoh…

More Stories

Strategic Satirical Fiction

This word cloud shows the most common categories for articles on this site.
Click a category to filter the timeline, or switch to article view to see the most recent articles in that category.

Select view:

    Browse by Category

    Top Categories

    Companies

    1. Apple sends out warnings to targets of mercenary spyware attacks
    2. HuaXin ZhongAn
    3. Private Intelligence Firms Are Selling Dossiers on AI and Data Center Critics
    4. DeWe Security Service Group
    5. Establishing a multinational walking blood bank in Haiti operational, regulatory, and cultural lessons from the MSSM mission
    View all →

    Academic

    1. JOVANA JEZDIMIROVIC RANITO
    2. Why doesn't it work? US Regulatory Challenges in Outsourcing Private Use of Violence in Stability Operations
    3. CHRISTOPHER SPEARIN
    4. Deborah D. Avant
    5. Justifications, (Dis)Advantages and Implications of Designating Proxy Actor: The Case of the Wagner Group/Africa Corps
    View all →

    Russia

    1. Ghana seeks to stop Russia from recruiting its citizens as mercenaries as Ukraine war death toll hits 62
    2. Ghana asks Moscow to stop recruiting its citizens for war in Ukraine
    3. Wagner Fighters Run Massive Opioid Ring in the CAR
    4. Routes and Ramifications: Tracking Russian Military Flights to Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger
    5. Russia brands foreign mercenaries with numbers – Ukraine intel
    View all →

    Legal

    1. Russia marks foreign mercenaries with numbers on their skin and equipment,
    2. ‘I was willing to die there’: Russia puts RFK Jr.’s son on wanted list over Ukraine war service
    3. Ensuring Accountability and Remedy for Victims of Mercenarism: Colombia at an Inflection Point
    4. Union Sues TSA Over Secret Plan to Privatize Security
    5. KBR Defendants Agree to Settle Kickback and False Claims Allegations
    View all →

    Outsourcing/Privatization

    1. THE LONG SHADOW OF THE SWORD-FOR-HIRE
    2. JOVANA JEZDIMIROVIC RANITO
    3. Why doesn't it work? US Regulatory Challenges in Outsourcing Private Use of Violence in Stability Operations
    4. CHRISTOPHER SPEARIN
    5. Deborah D. Avant
    View all →

    Isenberg Institute of Strategic Satire

    View all categories as Articles View all categories in a Timeline
    August 2026
    MTWTFSS
     12
    3456789
    10111213141516
    17181920212223
    24252627282930
    31 
    September 2026
    MTWTFSS
     123456
    78910111213
    14151617181920
    21222324252627
    282930