Gangsters and Other Statesmen

How global organized crime shapes the politics of borders in modern conflicts

Separatism has been on the rise across the world since the end of the Cold War, dividing countries through political strife, ethnic conflict, and civil war, and redrawing the political map. Gangsters and Other Statesmen examines the role transnational mafias play in the success and failure of separatist movements, challenging conventional wisdom about the interrelation of organized crime with peacebuilding, nationalism, and state making.

Danilo Mandic conducted fieldwork in the disputed territories of Kosovo and South Ossetia, talking to mobsters, separatists, and policymakers in war zones and along major smuggling routes. In this timely and provocative book, he demonstrates how globalized mafias shape the politics of borders in torn states, shedding critical light on an autonomous nonstate actor that has been largely sidelined by considerations of geopolitics, state-centered agency, and ethnonationalism. Blending extensive archival sleuthing and original ethnographic data with insights from sociology and other disciplines, Mandic argues that organized crime can be a fateful determinant of state capacity, separatist success, and ethnic conflict.

Putting mafias at the center of global processes of separatism and territorial consolidation, Gangsters and Other Statesmen raises vital questions and urges reconsideration of a host of separatist cases in West Africa, the Middle East, and East Europe.

Separatismul a crescut in intreaga lume de la sfarsitul Razboiului Rece, impartind tarile prin conflicte politice, conflicte etnice si razboi civil si redesenand harta politica. Gangsterii si alti oameni de stat examineaza rolul pe care il joaca mafiile transnationale in succesul si esecul miscarilor separatiste, provocand intelepciunea conventionala cu privire la interactiunea crimei organizate cu consolidarea pacii, nationalismul si formarea statului. , vorbind cu mafioti, separatisti si decidenti politici in zonele de razboi si de-a lungul rutelor majore de contrabanda.