Abstract

This talk examines the lives of former soldiers who find new purpose and community as private security contractors in East Africa. Challenging common assumptions about private security as a purely mercenary pursuit I argue that it represents a struggle for community and solidarity amidst the trauma of military demobilization and precarity of the modern labor market. Based on multi-sited fieldwork and interviews conducted between 2017 and 2022, I trace the growth of this diverse industry across Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Tanzania. Through interlocking case studies, the book examines the experiences of these contractors as they bodyguard diplomats, train anti-poaching teams, patrol cargo ships, and secure remote oil camps. Highlighting the historical continuities of soldierly work in the region, I trace the phenomenon back to the colonial and postcolonial period, arguing that colonial nostalgia plays a key role in shaping the identities and practices of contemporary contractors. By introducing the novel concept of the ‘contractor community’ I offer a new framework for understanding the privatization of security and the broader relationship between war, the military, and society.