In the Simba Rebellion, which occurred during the Cold War, senior American officials chose to employ mercenaries rather than rely solely on the United States military. Similarly, during the War on Terror, government bureaucrats elected to hire non-state actors to support the American military. To better understand these events, this thesis poses two questions. First, why did the United States government utilize mercenaries in those conflicts? And second, what factors motivate individuals to join a mercenary company in the modern era?
Research into various government databases revealed key documents pertaining to the decision to employ mercenaries in both periods. These sources show that senior leadership within the American government justified the use of non-state actors as a convenient and cost-effective method to accomplish their foreign policy goals. Such sources, however, do not consider the known risks and problems of mercenary employment.
An analysis of mercenary memoirs reveals that financial benefits and a desire for adventure remain the major motivating factors in each period. Although these memoirs cannot speak to every mercenary, they do present a suitable sample size for study. The questions posed by this thesis, as well as the findings, provide a basis for future research on the benefits, risks, and consequences of mercenary employment in the future.
","abstract_html":"<p>In the Simba Rebellion, which occurred during the Cold War, senior American officials chose to employ mercenaries rather than rely solely on the United States military. Similarly, during the War on Terror, government bureaucrats elected to hire non-state actors to support the American military. To better understand these events, this thesis poses two questions. First, why did the United States government utilize mercenaries in those conflicts? And second, what factors motivate individuals to join a mercenary company in the modern era?</p> <p>Research into various government databases revealed key documents pertaining to the decision to employ mercenaries in both periods. These sources show that senior leadership within the American government justified the use of non-state actors as a convenient and cost-effective method to accomplish their foreign policy goals. Such sources, however, do not consider the known risks and problems of mercenary employment.</p> <p>An analysis of mercenary memoirs reveals that financial benefits and a desire for adventure remain the major motivating factors in each period. Although these memoirs cannot speak to every mercenary, they do present a suitable sample size for study. The questions posed by this thesis, as well as the findings, provide a basis for future research on the benefits, risks, and consequences of mercenary employment in the future.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Fershin, Connor R"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"War, Diplomacy and Society","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Mateo Jarquin","Jeffrey Koerber","Kyle Longley"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z","subjects":["Mercenary","Contractor","Congo","War on Terror"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/45","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Mateo Jarquin","Jeffrey Koerber","Kyle Longley"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Fershin, Connor R"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["War, Diplomacy and Society"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mercenary","Contractor","Congo","War on Terror"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/45"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In the Simba Rebellion, which occurred during the Cold War, senior American officials chose to employ mercenaries rather than rely solely on the United States military. Similarly, during the War on Terror, government bureaucrats elected to hire non-state actors to support the American military. To better understand these events, this thesis poses two questions. First, why did the United States government utilize mercenaries in those conflicts? And second, what factors motivate individuals to join a mercenary company in the modern era?
Research into various government databases revealed key documents pertaining to the decision to employ mercenaries in both periods. These sources show that senior leadership within the American government justified the use of non-state actors as a convenient and cost-effective method to accomplish their foreign policy goals. Such sources, however, do not consider the known risks and problems of mercenary employment.
An analysis of mercenary memoirs reveals that financial benefits and a desire for adventure remain the major motivating factors in each period. Although these memoirs cannot speak to every mercenary, they do present a suitable sample size for study. The questions posed by this thesis, as well as the findings, provide a basis for future research on the benefits, risks, and consequences of mercenary employment in the future.
"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Fershin, Connor Ryan. \"Soldiers of Fortune: A Historical Analysis of American Mercenary Employment.\" Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2025. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000665 "]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Soldiers of Fortune: A Historical Analysis of American Mercenary Employment"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Mateo Jarquin","Jeffrey Koerber","Kyle Longley"],"dc:creator":["Fershin, Connor R"],"dc:description.abstract":["In the Simba Rebellion, which occurred during the Cold War, senior American officials chose to employ mercenaries rather than rely solely on the United States military. Similarly, during the War on Terror, government bureaucrats elected to hire non-state actors to support the American military. To better understand these events, this thesis poses two questions. First, why did the United States government utilize mercenaries in those conflicts? And second, what factors motivate individuals to join a mercenary company in the modern era?
Research into various government databases revealed key documents pertaining to the decision to employ mercenaries in both periods. These sources show that senior leadership within the American government justified the use of non-state actors as a convenient and cost-effective method to accomplish their foreign policy goals. Such sources, however, do not consider the known risks and problems of mercenary employment.
An analysis of mercenary memoirs reveals that financial benefits and a desire for adventure remain the major motivating factors in each period. Although these memoirs cannot speak to every mercenary, they do present a suitable sample size for study. The questions posed by this thesis, as well as the findings, provide a basis for future research on the benefits, risks, and consequences of mercenary employment in the future.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/war_and_society_theses/45"],"dc:source":["Fershin, Connor Ryan. \"Soldiers of Fortune: A Historical Analysis of American Mercenary Employment.\" Master's thesis, Chapman University, 2025. https://doi.org/10.36837/chapman.000665 "],"dc:subject":["Mercenary","Contractor","Congo","War on Terror"],"dc:title":["Soldiers of Fortune: A Historical Analysis of American Mercenary Employment"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["War, Diplomacy and Society"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:38:43Z"}