This is the first in-depth conceptual and empirical analysis of the political issues, processes and themes associated with private security provision and its growth in the postwar era, examining why private security has become so prominent, what its relationship to the state is and how it can be controlled.

PART I: THEORY AND CONTEXT Introduction Structure, Agency and Security PART II: THE POLITICS OF PRIVATE SECURITY IN BRITAIN Emerging Agendas (1945-59) The Regulation Debate (1960-69) Parliamentary Pressure (1969-79) The Neoliberal Experiments (1979-1996) New Labour, New Legitimacy (1997-2001) The Era of Regulation (2001-2010) PART III: COMPARISONS AND CONCLUSIONS Towards a New Social-Scientific Understanding Bibliography