Empire's Labor - by Adam D Moore (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is about the labor required to sustain the U.S. military's various overseas operations, both recognized wars and clandestine campaigns, and the experiences of people from around the world who perform it. The military is profoundly dependent on a global army of labor that comes from countries as diverse as Bosnia, the Philippines, Turkey, India, Kenya, England, Sierra Leone and Fiji"--

Book Synopsis

In a dramatic unveiling of the little-known world of contracted military logistics, Adam Moore examines the lives of the global army of laborers who support US overseas wars. Empire's Labor brings us the experience of the hundreds of thousands of men and women who perform jobs such as truck drivers and administrative assistants at bases located in warzones in the Middle East and Africa. He highlights the changes the US military has undergone since the Vietnam War, when the ratio of contractors to uniformed personnel was roughly 1:6. In Afghanistan it has been as high as 4:1. This growth in logistics contracting represents a fundamental change in how the US fights wars, with the military now dependent on a huge pool of contractors recruited from around the world. It also, Moore demonstrates, has social, economic, and political implications that extend well beyond the battlefields.

Focusing on workers from the Philippines and Bosnia, two major sources of "third country national" (TCN) military labor, Moore explains the rise of large-scale logistics outsourcing since the end of the Cold War; describes the networks, infrastructures, and practices that span the spaces through which people, information, and goods circulate; and reveals the experiences of foreign workers, from the hidden dynamics of labor activism on bases, to the economic and social impacts these jobs have on their families and the communities they hail from. Through his extensive fieldwork and interviews, Moore gives voice to the agency and aspirations of the many thousands of foreigners who labor for the US military.

Thanks to generous funding from UCLA and its participation in TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem), the ebook editions of this book are available as Open Access volumes from Cornell Open (cornellpress.cornell.edu/cornell-open) and other repositories.

Review Quotes

Empire's Labor inverts the story commonly told about private military companies in the 21st century. The book presents a provocative argument that is supported by original research including interviews with the people who fill these jobs and analysis of contracts and other relevant documents. It is a worthwhile read for anyone interested in the transnational market for force that relies upon an additional private market.

-- "ILR Review"

Adam Moore has undertaken detailed research, including interviews with workers, to explore the labor force buttressing the U.S. military. He traces patterns of recruitment, finds evidence of exploitative and discriminatory labor practices, and explores how the military's recruitment of legions of workers affects their countries of origin.

-- "Foreign Affairs"

Moore's book also opens a space for geographers to intervene in the intellectual project of building a more explicitly spatial theory of empire: one that foregrounds how empire-building has historically been grounded in the geographical management of bodies, populations, and circulations, not only at the "macroscales of policy and strategy", but also in the intimate spaces of everyday life. Moore's work, I think, presents a compelling case for why it is essential for geographers to be in conversation with such debates.

-- "Society + Space"

About the Author

Adam Moore is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is author of Peacebuilding in Practice. Follow him on X @ConflictGeo.