ABSTRACT
The conclusion begins by recapitulating the starting point of the preceding analysis, the primary research question, and the key focus of the book before it summarizes its main findings. It goes on to discuss the practical and theoretical implications that can be derived from the empirical data presented in this book. Specifically, the concluding chapter suggests that the book adds significantly to our understanding of norm dynamics through a specification of the rather fuzzy concept of norm entrepreneurship. The analytical value of the proposed framework is that it allows us to study how norms change once they move along the cycle and are legally institutionalized. Moreover, the chapter highlights this book’s contribution to the academic knowledge about legitimation processes and strategies pertaining to non-state actors in global and security governance. It concludes with a discussion of the study’s potential limitations, particularly its focus on big and medium-sized PMSCs based in Great Britain and the US, which leaves open how far the book’s findings on ‘how PMSCs became legitimate’ can travel to the broader universe of PMSCs.
