#82 | Post-State Era: Private Military Corporations & The Decay Of Empire w/ Sean McFate

Our guest, Sean McFate, is an author, novelist, and expert in foreign policy and national security strategy. 

Sean's career began in the U.S. Army in the 82nd Airborne Division, and later became a private military contractor in Africa for Dyncorp, where he "dealt with warlords, raised small armies, worked with armed groups in the Sahara, transacted arms deals in Eastern Europe, and helped prevent an impending genocide in the Great Lakes region."

Sean is deeply critical of the ongoing privatization of military operations by the U.S. government, as well as Erik Prince, former president and founder of Blackwater, and his proposals to dramatically privatize military operations in Afghanistan. 

These type of grandiose plans Erik Prince proposed to the Trump Administration have not been implemented but there is still much to be concerned with regarding the rise of mercenary armies and how they fit into the ever-changing face of war in the 21st century. Sean McFate goes over this and much more in this episode.

Bio:

Sean McFate is the author of "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean For World Order," an exposé on the little understood world of private military contractors and how the ongoing privatization of military functions has, and will continue, to change geopolitical events and affairs. Sean recently published "Shadow War" and its sequel "Deep Black," novels that explore the secret world of private military forces in the current geopolitical landscape these companies inhabit. 

Episode Notes:

- Find out more about Sean's work at his website: http://www.seanmcfate.com/

- Follow Sean on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/seanmcfate

- Read Sean's piece "I Was a Mercenary. Trust Me: Erik Prince’s Plan Is Garbage." in Politico: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/08/31/i-was-a-mercenary-trust-me-erik-princes-plan-is-garbage-215563

- Purchase Sean's book "The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean For World Order": https://goo.gl/rzKmcF

- Purchase Sean's most recent work "Shadow War" (https://goo.gl/q9qS2E) as well as its sequel "Deep Black": https://goo.gl/orSZEV

- Sean's Full Bio: http://www.seanmcfate.com/z-pdf/SeanMcFate-Biography.pdf

- The segment of Erik Prince's interview on CNN : https://youtu.be/AXs9SU3nz2c

- The songs featured in this episode are "Oxbow B," "All Corrupt Everything," and "Batty's Theme" by Lorn from the album The Maze To Nowhere.