The Path to Outsourcing Security in South East Asia

In this exploratory study we examine the validity of existing civil-military scholarship explanations for the path towards privatization in Southeast Asia. Despite the growing trend of the privatization of security and military functions across the globe, the rationale behind this trend is still unclear. Why states decide to take this path and outsource parts of their security apparatus. This is especially bewildering given the outsourcing of security disrupts civil-military relations as it represents an encroachment in the state monopoly of the means of violence. Tackling this dilemma, this paper explores the type of services outsourced to the private military and security sector across countries in the South East Asia region. The analysis examines this trend in line with various demographic, economic, political, and security-related indicators. This study’s results specify that the interplay between economic need and military capacities are the best predictor for the outsourcing of