Alessandro Arduino

Dr Alessandro Arduino is affiliated with the Lau China Institute, King’s College London and Security & Crisis Management International Centre at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science. His two decades of experience encompasses security analysis and crisis management. His main research interests include private military and security companies, China, Central Asia and the Middle East and North Africa relations, Russia, Turkey and China’s security and foreign policy. Dr Arduino is the author of several books, and he has published papers and commentaries in various journals in Italian, English and Chinese. His podcast, Boots off the Ground (BOTG) discusses how uniformed soldiers, or boots on the ground, are being replaced by private military companies and automated weapons. His most recent book Money for Mayhem: Mercenaries, Private Military Companies, Drones, and the Future of War (Rowman & Littlefield) forecasts what the future of war looks like in a world dominated by private armies.