In 2003, just before the start of the US invasion of Iraq, military planners predicted that the mission’s success would depend on using diverse sources for their workforce. While thousands of US troops were needed to secure victory in the field, large numbers of civilian contractors – many from poor countries in Africa and Asia – were recruited to provide a range of services for the occupying forces. In Contract Workers, Risk, and the War in Iraq Kevin Thomas provides a compelling account of the recruitment of Sierra Leonean workers and their reasons for embracing the risks of migration. In recent years US military bases have outsourced contracts for services to private military corporations who recruit and capitalize on cheaper low-skilled workers. Thomas argues that for people from post-conflict countries such as Sierra Leone, where there are high levels of poverty and acute unemployment, the opportunity to improve their situation outweighs the risk of migration to war-torn Iraq. Examining migrants’ experiences in their native country, at US bases, and after their return to Sierra Leone, Thomas deftly explores the intricate dynamics of risk, sets up a theoretical framework for future researchers, and offers policy recommendations for decision-makers and practitioners in the field. Incorporating the voices of Sierra Leonean contractors who were manipulated and exploited, Contract Workers, Risk, and the War in Iraq turns the spotlight on a subject that has remained on the periphery of history and reveals an unexpected consequence of the War on Terror.

Kevin J.A. Thomas is associate professor of sociology, demography, and African studies at the Pennsylvania State University.

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"Thomas' account of contract workers in Iraq provides detailed and first-hand insights from contract workers on military bases that will help to inform wider sociological work investigating the nature of contract work in the 21st century in all its forms." Work, Employment, and Society

"This book will no doubt stimulate further sociological research in many ways. It is elegantly composed, informatively written, and carefully argued. Moreover, Thomas cautiously and courageously addresses both urgent social issues and the previous research used in the analysis." American Journal of Sociology

"Thomas's exploration of race, in particular in looking at dynamics between African migrants and African-American soldiers, is rich and could be a study in and of itself. The processes and products of return migration that Thomas interrogates, specifically his attention to changes in family and culture systems back home, as well as the supplanting of nations by non-state actors, also present an important and welcome addition to literature on migration in the Middle East." Contemporary Sociology

“Through a meticulous and cohesive mixture of migrants’ perspectives, empirical evidence, theoretical grounding, and policy recommendations, Contract Workers, Risk, and the War in Iraq presents a thoughtful discussion on labor migration that adds tremendously to the fields of public policy, political science, international relations, and African studies.” Abdul Karim Bangura, American University

"Throughout his text, Thomas skillfully weaves together a myriad of methodologies and ideologies from disparate disciplines to critically analyze the contemporary phenomenon of Sierra Leonean labor migration to a conflict zone. Perhaps most significantly, Thomas's study bears the question of the role and responsibility of the American military in developing and enforcing policies for the fair recruitment, treatment, and protection of laborers, particularly in high-risk situations, where it is increasingly employing migratory contract workers. The contemporary cost of waging war needs to better account for the assumption of risk by migrant laborers, who increasingly find themselves employed in places where few others dare to go." H-War

"Contract Workers, Risk, and the War in Iraq is a significant contribution to scholarship on military contracting and raises important questions about high-risk migration into warzones." International Migration Review