This book examines the legitimation of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) in security governance, focusing on the interaction between PMSCs and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).

While existing studies disproportionately emphasise the ability of companies and their clients to dominate and shape perceptions of the industry, this book offers an alternative explanation for the oft-cited normalization of PMSCs and the trend to privatise security by analysing the changing relationship between PMSCs and NGOs. It introduces the concept of ‘norm entrepreneurship’ to reconstruct how the legitimation game between these two dissimilar actors plays out. Starting from the 1990s, the book shows that both PMSCs and NGOs have undergone a transition by literally moving from ‘the barricades to the boardrooms’. Instead of launching fierce advocacy and PR campaigns, today both actors increasingly partner in multi-stakeholder initiatives, elevating the industry’s status from an actor who was scorned to a partner in good standing. The work offers a comprehensive explanation of when and why this kind of collective norm entrepreneurship is likely to occur.

This book will be of interest to students of private military and security companies, critical security studies, global governance, international norms, and International Relations.