It Wasn't in My Contract: Defense Contracting and Civilian Control of Policy.

An increase in the use of private military and security contractors over the last two decades has sparked a debate over whether their employment enhances or detracts from government control of its security agents and policy. Scholarly disagreement on the operationalization of control, however, makes it difficult to answer this question. This article seeks to provide a way forward by back-formulating a theory of "control" and comparing features specific to public versus private agents which may affect control. The author offers the hypothesis that the principles of democratic governance are likely to be more secure when policy is carried out by public agents. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]