Towards a New Social-Scientific Understanding

Abstract

The argument of this book has been that the politics of private security should be considered alongside the economics of private security if we are to develop an indepth understanding of the global transformation which is currently taking place in the nature of domestic security provision. This is because this political mode of analysis not only offers an interesting new narrative about the rise of private security, but it also facilitates the development of a much more sophisticated socialscientific understanding of this phenomenon. The objective of this final chapter is to highlight the importance, originality and generalisability of the concepts and arguments which have been mapped out over the previous eight chapters. It will do this in three parts. Firstly, it will delineate the contours and underline the significance of the political narrative about the rise of private security in post-war Britain. Secondly, it will demonstrate how this narrative can be used to enhance our social-scientific understanding of domestic security provision, specifically by returning to the key research questions which were set out in the introductory chapter. Thirdly, it will explore the degree to which the concepts and arguments that have emerged out of the British case can be generalised to other countries.