Laura Dickinson

Professor Laura Dickinson’s book, Outsourcing War and Peace: Preserving Public Values in a World of Privatized Foreign Affairs, was recently reviewed by David Isenberg, an adjunct scholar with the Cato Institute and a research fellow at the Independent Institute.

Isenberg calls Dickinson’s book, “clearly better than others” that cover the same topic of privatization of military and security forces. The review explores in detail Dickinson’s arguments and calls her discussion of reforming of the structure and culture of private firms, “exceptionally insightful.” Isenberg also notes that “one can only hope that policymakers will read Dickinson’s book,” as he argues that the use of private military contractors will likely increase in the future.

To read the entire review, click here.

Dickinson is Faculty Director of the College of Law’s Center for Law and Global Affairs. Her book examines the increasing privatization of military, security and foreign aid functions of government, considers the impact of this trend on core public values and outlines mechanism for protecting these values in an era of privatization.

Dickinson’s work focuses on human rights, national security, foreign affairs privatization and qualitative empirical approaches to international law. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the Executive Council of the American Society of International Law, and co-organizer of a Collaborative Research Network on Empirical Approaches to International Human Rights Law, convened under the auspices of the Law & Society Association.