Co-Constituting Bodyguarding Practice through Embodied Reflexivity: Methodological Reflections from the Field

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Abstract

This article focuses on the training context of private military and security (PMS) contractors. The training they undergo varies considerably, though the majority of training providers offer instruction in how to work in armed close protection (CP) as so-called bodyguards of dignitaries or on convoy protection. Set against this backdrop, the article reports on two periods of ethnographic field research of armed CP training where the author trained as a bodyguard in the first, and played the role of dignitary in the second. The discussion notes the very particular ways in which security is co-constituted between training instructor, author, and student. Here, a form of embodied reflexivity is used to show how security is translated between actors. Acknowledging that security is mediated through time, space, and the body can help to explain the experiences of host populations whose security has at particular moments been jeopardized by these armed actors.
Original languageEnglish
Article number3
Pages (from-to)42-60
Number of pages18
JournalConflict & Society
Volume3
Issue number1
Early online date1 Jun 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2017

Keywords

  • bodyguard; co-constituted practice; ethnography; private security training

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