The Institute of World Politics

This address was given by IWP Dean Mackubin Thomas Owens on September 16, 2015 in honor of Constitution Day.

This address was given by IWP Dean Mackubin Thomas Owens on September 16, 2015 in honor of Constitution Day.

On September 14, 2015, The Institute of World Politics welcomed Dr. Sean McFate for a lecture on his recently published book, "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order."

About the book

It was 2004, and Sean McFate had a mission in Burundi: to keep the president alive and prevent the country from spiraling into genocide, without anyone knowing that the United States was involved. The United States was, of course, involved, but only through McFate's employer, the military contractor DynCorp International. Throughout the world, similar scenarios are playing out daily. The United States can no longer go to war without contractors. Yet we don't know much about the industry's structure, its operations, or where it's heading. Even the U.S. government -- the entity that actually pays them -- knows relatively little.

In The Modern Mercenary, Sean McFate combines a broad-ranging theory of the phenomenon with an insider's understanding of what the opaque world of the private military industry is actually like, explaining its economic structure and showing in detail how firms operate on the ground. McFate provides an unparalleled perspective into the nuts and bolts of the industry, as well as a sobering prognosis for the future of war.

About the author

Sean McFate is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C. He is also an associate professor at the National Defense University and teaches national security strategy at Georgetown University. Previously, he was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and then a private military contractor in Africa. He holds BAs from Brown University, a MPP from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics.

On September 14, 2015, The Institute of World Politics welcomed Dr. Sean McFate for a lecture on his recently published book, "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order."

About the book

It was 2004, and Sean McFate had a mission in Burundi: to keep the president alive and prevent the country from spiraling into genocide, without anyone knowing that the United States was involved. The United States was, of course, involved, but only through McFate's employer, the military contractor DynCorp International. Throughout the world, similar scenarios are playing out daily. The United States can no longer go to war without contractors. Yet we don't know much about the industry's structure, its operations, or where it's heading. Even the U.S. government -- the entity that actually pays them -- knows relatively little.

In The Modern Mercenary, Sean McFate combines a broad-ranging theory of the phenomenon with an insider's understanding of what the opaque world of the private military industry is actually like, explaining its economic structure and showing in detail how firms operate on the ground. McFate provides an unparalleled perspective into the nuts and bolts of the industry, as well as a sobering prognosis for the future of war.

About the author

Sean McFate is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C. He is also an associate professor at the National Defense University and teaches national security strategy at Georgetown University. Previously, he was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and then a private military contractor in Africa. He holds BAs from Brown University, a MPP from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics.

On September 14, 2015, The Institute of World Politics welcomed Dr. Sean McFate for a lecture on his recently published book, "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order."

About the book

It was 2004, and Sean McFate had a mission in Burundi: to keep the president alive and prevent the country from spiraling into genocide, without anyone knowing that the United States was involved. The United States was, of course, involved, but only through McFate's employer, the military contractor DynCorp International. Throughout the world, similar scenarios are playing out daily. The United States can no longer go to war without contractors. Yet we don't know much about the industry's structure, its operations, or where it's heading. Even the U.S. government -- the entity that actually pays them -- knows relatively little.

In The Modern Mercenary, Sean McFate combines a broad-ranging theory of the phenomenon with an insider's understanding of what the opaque world of the private military industry is actually like, explaining its economic structure and showing in detail how firms operate on the ground. McFate provides an unparalleled perspective into the nuts and bolts of the industry, as well as a sobering prognosis for the future of war.

About the author

Sean McFate is a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington, D.C. He is also an associate professor at the National Defense University and teaches national security strategy at Georgetown University. Previously, he was a paratrooper in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and then a private military contractor in Africa. He holds BAs from Brown University, a MPP from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics.

In recent years, the competition for supplying Europe with natural gas has heated up once again and has taken a more urgent course due to the conflict in Ukraine. Two pipeline routes are vying for dominance and are backed by different states with their own geopolitical considerations. In December 2014, it was announced that Russia's Gazprom would re-route its proposed South Stream Pipeline to the Turkish-Greek border via the Black Sea and Turkey. Likewise, the U.S.-backed Nabucco pipeline was sidelined by the less ambitious and costly Trans-Anatolian Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will see Azerbaijani gas and potentially Iranian and Turkmen gas cross Turkey to reach markets in Greece, the Balkans and Italy. Both pipelines have their advantages and disadvantages. This lecture will consider the economics and geopolitics of the rival pipelines and what's at stake for the concerned parties.

VilenVilen Khlgatyan is Vice-Chairman of Political Developments Research Center (PDRC), a think tank based in Yerevan, Armenia. He specializes in the geopolitics of energy, non-kinetic warfare, and the post-Soviet region with an emphasis on the Caucasus.

Mr. Khlgatyan received his M.A. in Statecraft and National Security Affairs from The Institute of World Politics and his B.A. in International Business and International Relations from Webster University.

In recent years, the competition for supplying Europe with natural gas has heated up once again and has taken a more urgent course due to the conflict in Ukraine. Two pipeline routes are vying for dominance and are backed by different states with their own geopolitical considerations. In December 2014, it was announced that Russia's Gazprom would re-route its proposed South Stream Pipeline to the Turkish-Greek border via the Black Sea and Turkey. Likewise, the U.S.-backed Nabucco pipeline was sidelined by the less ambitious and costly Trans-Anatolian Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will see Azerbaijani gas and potentially Iranian and Turkmen gas cross Turkey to reach markets in Greece, the Balkans and Italy. Both pipelines have their advantages and disadvantages. This lecture will consider the economics and geopolitics of the rival pipelines and what's at stake for the concerned parties.

VilenVilen Khlgatyan is Vice-Chairman of Political Developments Research Center (PDRC), a think tank based in Yerevan, Armenia. He specializes in the geopolitics of energy, non-kinetic warfare, and the post-Soviet region with an emphasis on the Caucasus.

Mr. Khlgatyan received his M.A. in Statecraft and National Security Affairs from The Institute of World Politics and his B.A. in International Business and International Relations from Webster University.

In recent years, the competition for supplying Europe with natural gas has heated up once again and has taken a more urgent course due to the conflict in Ukraine. Two pipeline routes are vying for dominance and are backed by different states with their own geopolitical considerations. In December 2014, it was announced that Russia's Gazprom would re-route its proposed South Stream Pipeline to the Turkish-Greek border via the Black Sea and Turkey. Likewise, the U.S.-backed Nabucco pipeline was sidelined by the less ambitious and costly Trans-Anatolian Pipeline and Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, which will see Azerbaijani gas and potentially Iranian and Turkmen gas cross Turkey to reach markets in Greece, the Balkans and Italy. Both pipelines have their advantages and disadvantages. This lecture will consider the economics and geopolitics of the rival pipelines and what's at stake for the concerned parties.

VilenVilen Khlgatyan is Vice-Chairman of Political Developments Research Center (PDRC), a think tank based in Yerevan, Armenia. He specializes in the geopolitics of energy, non-kinetic warfare, and the post-Soviet region with an emphasis on the Caucasus.

Mr. Khlgatyan received his M.A. in Statecraft and National Security Affairs from The Institute of World Politics and his B.A. in International Business and International Relations from Webster University.

Dr. Kengor, author of Dupes: How America's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century, will discuss his historical research on a troubling aspect of American history: the prominent role of the "dupe." From the Bolshevik Revolution through the Cold War and right up to the present, many progressives have unwittingly aided some of America's most dangerous opponents. Dr. Kengor will describe not only how such dupes contributed to history's most destructive ideology-Communism, which claimed at least 100 million lives-but also why they are so relevant to today's politics.

Paul KengorPaul Kengor, Ph.D., is professor of political science at Grove City College, a four-year, private Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and a New York Times bestselling author. He is executive director of the Center for Vision & Values, a Grove City College think-tank/policy center. He is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. Kengor is an internationally recognized authority on several subjects, particularly Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and communism. He is often quoted in major publications, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications from across the ideological spectrum. Kengor is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, the BBC, PCN-TV, EWTN, and FoxNewsChannel, and is regular columnist for Townhall and the American Spectator. Kengor received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and his Master's degree from American University's School of International Service. He holds an honorary doctorate from Franciscan University (Steubenville, Ohio).

Dr. Kengor, author of Dupes: How America's Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century, will discuss his historical research on a troubling aspect of American history: the prominent role of the "dupe." From the Bolshevik Revolution through the Cold War and right up to the present, many progressives have unwittingly aided some of America's most dangerous opponents. Dr. Kengor will describe not only how such dupes contributed to history's most destructive ideology-Communism, which claimed at least 100 million lives-but also why they are so relevant to today's politics.

Paul KengorPaul Kengor, Ph.D., is professor of political science at Grove City College, a four-year, private Christian liberal arts college in Grove City, Pennsylvania, and a New York Times bestselling author. He is executive director of the Center for Vision & Values, a Grove City College think-tank/policy center. He is also a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace at Stanford University. Kengor is an internationally recognized authority on several subjects, particularly Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and communism. He is often quoted in major publications, and his articles have appeared in numerous publications from across the ideological spectrum. Kengor is a frequent contributor to MSNBC, C-SPAN, NPR, the BBC, PCN-TV, EWTN, and FoxNewsChannel, and is regular columnist for Townhall and the American Spectator. Kengor received his doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and his Master's degree from American University's School of International Service. He holds an honorary doctorate from Franciscan University (Steubenville, Ohio).