Soldier, contractor, trauma: The governance of post-traumatic stress disorder in the private military labour market

This article explores the governance of post-traumatic stress disorder among soldiers-turned-contractors in the private military labour market. Using original data relating to the UK case, it argues that this governance regime is best understood as a political economic process which transcends the public–private divide. On one side, post-traumatic stress disorder is managed as an economic issue—a calculation to be factored into the pursuit of profit maximization. On the other side, it is managed as a political or social issue—a component of the civil–military relationship in which state and society have a duty to care for all those who have served and sacrificed in defense of the nation. In other words, this process is shaped by—and gives shape to—the complex professional identity of the individuals under examination: they are private military contractors and, at the same time, armed forces veterans.