2011 Catalytic Workshop:
The Markets for Force; Regional Variation
in the Forms & Functions
of Security Commodification

Workshop Chair:Molly Dunigan, RAND Corporation
Location:Salon 6, Sharaton
Time:9:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Final Report: Download PDF (489kb)

Workshop Summary

This workshop will bring together participants in an explorative study seeking to break new ground by addressing the development and consequences of differently designed markets for force. Our analysis in this workshop positions itself to contribute to the research on the Market for Force. Much scholarly work has been conducted to elucidate different aspects and consequences of the commodification of force (Avant, 2005; Singer, 2003; Krahmann 2010; Stanger, 2009). However, most existing studies on these issues pay little attention to the variance within the market, treating it instead as a homogeneous transnational entity. In contrast, we take as our starting point that the market for force is actually a conglomeration of different regional markets for force. The specific questions we are interested in are why different markets for force have developed, and why these markets have developed in the particular manner that they have. We seek here to also explore the consequences of these different market designs regarding the organization of violence, with a particular focus on the effects of these markets on the state’s monopoly on force and the provision of the common good “security”. In total, the workshop includes 12 paper contributors examining 13 case studies from all regions of the world: North America (United States, Canada), Latin America (Colombia, Peru, Ecuador), Europe (United Kingdom, Denmark, Ukraine, Russia), Africa (South Africa) and Asia (India, Afghanistan, China).

Workshop Participants (tentative)

  • Olivia Allison, Stirling Assynt
  • Deborah Avant, UC Irvine
  • Jody Ray Bennett, International Relations and Security Watch
  • Kateri Carmola, Middlebury College
  • Jennifer Catallo, University of Toronto
  • Molly Dunigan, RAND Corporation
  • Scott Fitzsimmons, University of Calgary
  • Sabelo Gumedze, Institute for Security Studies
  • Maiah Jaskoski, Naval Postgraduate School
  • Elke Krahmann Professor, University of Bristol
  • Anna Leander, Copenhagen Business Schoo
  • Kristina Mani, Oberlin College
  • Carlos Ortiz, University of Sussex
  • Ulrich Petersohn, ETH Zurich Switzerland
  • Jake Sherman, Center for International Cooperation, New York University
  • Christopher Spearin, Canadian Forces College
  • Allison Stanger, Middlebury College
  • Vadim Volkov, European University, St. Petersburg