Originally hired by wealthy Italian city states to protect their assets during a time of ceaseless warring, the Condottiere of the Italian peninsula became famous for his wealth, venality and amorality during the 14th century. The Condottieri's pursuit of profit meant they were prepared to change sides for the right price, even during battle, and they prospered, becoming both powerful and rich in the process. Leaders such as John Hawkwood, with his famous 'White Company', became major political figures.

I could not have produced this book without the assistance and support of others. It began life as a doctoral thesis completed at the University of Oxford under the supervision of Dapo Akande and Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill. Dapo’s sharp intellect, close attention to detail and extensive knowledge of international law undoubtedly pushed me to produce a better thesis and book. He regularly went beyond the call of duty by providing feedback from the other side of the world, whether by email between Yale and The Hague or by skype between Oxford and Australia, and his flexibility and tireless availability enabled me to pursue a range of endeavours while still maintaining a strong level of supervision throughoutmydoctorate. I amalsoextremely grateful tomy supervisor during the final term of my doctorate, Professor Guy Goodwin-Gill, who invested a considerable amount of time and energy to comprehend the entire project at a late stage. His feedback on the final drafts ofmy thesis and his general advice on the road to publication were invaluable. Dr Sarah Percy and DrRoger O’Keefe examinedmy masters thesis at the University of Oxford, and their exacting standards helped me to improve my work and develop it into a doctoral proposal. My doctoral thesis examiners, Professors Vaughan Lowe and Nigel White, also provided helpful comments, and I am grateful for their assistance. The Rhodes Scholarship funded my studies at Oxford for three full years. I will forever be indebted to the Rhodes Trust for the financial support, self-confidence and phenomenal professional and personal opportunities that the Scholarship provided. I was also fortunate to receive a Wingate Scholarship during the final stages of my doctorate. Parts of Chapters 3, 4 and 5 of this book develop work that appeared in ‘Common Article 1: AMinimumYardstick for Regulating PrivateMilitary and Security Companies’ (2009) 22 Leiden Journal of International Law 779–99. I gratefully acknowledge the journal’s permission to reprint the relevant passages.

Mercenaries have always had a poor press. Theirs is one of the world's oldest professions, but the very word has profoundly negative connotations of infidelity and ruthlessness. But if they were like this, were they so different from soldiers?

Since the end of the Cold War, conventional militaries and their political leaders have confronted a new, brutal type of warfare in which non-state armed groups use asymmetrical tactics to successfully fight larger, technologically superior forces. In order to prevent future bloodshed and political chaos, it is crucial to understand how these unconventional armed groups think and to adapt to their methods of combat. Richard H. Shultz Jr. and Andrea J. Dew investigate the history and politics of modern asymmetrical warfare. By focusing on four specific hotbeds of instability—Somalia, Chechnya, Afghanistan, and Iraq—Shultz and Dew conduct a careful analysis of tribal culture and the value of clan associations. They examine why these "traditional" or "tribal" warriors fight, how they recruit, where they find sanctuary, and what is behind their strategy. Traveling across two centuries and several continents, Shultz and Dew examine the doctrinal, tactical, and strategic advantages and consider the historical, cultural, and anthropological factors behind the motivation and success of the warriors of contemporary combat. In their provocative argument, Shultz and Dew propose that war in the post-Cold War era cannot be waged through traditional Western methods of combat, especially when friendly states and outside organizations like al-Qaeda serve as powerful allies to the enemy. Thoroughly researched and highly readable, Insurgents, Terrorists, and Militias examines how non-state armies fight, identifies the patterns and trends of their combat, and recommends how conventional militaries can defeat these irregular yet highly effective organizations.