Dr. Scott Fitzsimmons

Bibliography

Scott Fitzsimmons, B.P.A.P.M., M.A., (Carleton), Ph.D. (Calgary), specializes in the behaviour of armed forces and the use of force in contemporary conflicts. His primary research interests include developing and testing theories of how armed forces behave in conflict zones, combat operations involving mercenaries and private security companies, psychological approaches to foreign policy decision-making, public attitudes toward defence spending and the use of force by the Government of Canada, government responses to terrorism, and the sources of combat stress experienced by the operators of remotely piloted combat vehicles.

Research Profile

Selected Publications

1. “Personality and Adherence to International Agreements: The Case of President Donald Trump.” International Relations 36, No. 1 (2020): 40-60.

2. “Contracting Blowback?: The Use of Violence by Private Security Companies and Insurgents during the Iraq War.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (Winter 2020).

3. “The Role of Personality in Canada’s Burden Sharing Decisions during Coalition Combat Operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” Canadian Foreign Policy Journal 25, 3 (2019): 288-304.

4. Private Security Companies during the Iraq War: Military Performance and The Use of Deadly Force. London, UK: Routledge, 2015.

5. “Just War Theory and Private Security Companies.” International Affairs 91, no. 5 (2015): 1069-1084.

6. With Allan Craigie and Marc Andre Bodet. “Canadian Public Opinion about the Military: Assessing the Influences on Attitudes toward Defence Spending and Participation in Overseas Combat Operations.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 47, no. 3 (2014): 503-518.

7. Mercenaries in Asymmetric Conflicts. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012.