Alexandra Gheciu is an Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and Associate Director of the Centre for International Policy Studies, University of Ottawa. Her research interests are in the fields of international security, international institutions, Euro-Atlantic relations, global governance, state (re)building, and International Relations theory. Her publications include The Return of the Public in Global Governance (co-edited with Jacqueline Best, Cambridge University Press, 2014), Securing Civilization? (Oxford University Press, 2008), NATO in the New Europe (Stanford University Press, 2005), and, more recently, Security Entrepreneurs: Performing Protection in Post-Cold War Europe (Oxford University Press, 2018).

"This book should be considered as required reading for any serious, advanced scholar who seeks to broaden their theoretical and empirical understanding of private security providers." -- Scott Fitzsimmons, Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Limerick

"Come for a deep understanding of the political economy of private security in Eastern Europe; stay for a sophistical theoretical analysis that will prove useful in many other contexts. Drawing on a wide range of social theory, Alexandra Gheciu has written a masterful analysis of private agents performing public power. Their practices, shaped by global, regional, and local forces, have exacerbated social problems, including unequal access to security. At the same time, though, they have sometimes reinforced the ability of governments to provide public services." - Deborah Avant, Sié Chéou-Kang Chair and Director, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver

"Alexandra Gheciu's study is a conceptually innovative and empirically fine-grained analysis of the ways in which global forces and local actors interacted to reshape the field of security provision in post-authoritarian Eastern Europe. She highlights the negative consequences of the neo-liberal reforms championed as part of the process of European integration, and illustrates how public institutions have been hollowed out to maximize private gain. This excellent volume is crucial for anyone interested in understanding the contemporary political economy of public and private security provision, in Europe and beyond. " - Keith Krause, Professor of International Relations, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.

"In this excellent book, Gheciu provides an insightful study of the new political economy of security provision in post-Cold War Europe. Her work paints a picture of a dynamic network of actors that blur the boundaries between public and private, national and international, and licit and illicit activities. A must read for those with an interest in the privatisation of security, postcommunism and security governance. " - Timothy Edmunds, Professor of International Security, University of Bristol