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When militants, criminals, and warlords take over

A man walks on the ruins of a house in Afghanistan.

Vanda Felbab-Brown and Shadi Hamid, both senior fellows in the Foreign Policy program, discuss their new book Militants, Criminals, and Warlords: The Challenge of Local Governance in an Age of Disorder with the director of the Brookings Institution Press Bill Finan. In the interview and in their new book, co-authored by Harold Trinkunas, Felbab-Brown and Hamid address the origins of some of these nonstate actors and make recommendations on how the international community should address them.

Also in this episode, Molly Reynolds explains how polarization and gridlock in the appropriations process create the possibility of a government shutdown in our regular “What’s Happening in Congress” segment.

Show notes:

Tackling crime and illicit economies isn’t just a technical exercise—it’s an intensely political one

How predatory crime and corruption in Afghanistan underpin the Taliban insurgency

Organized crime, illicit economies, civil violence and international order: More complex than you think

Thanks to audio producer Gaston Reboredo with assistance from Mark Hoelscher, and to producer Brennan Hoban. Additional support comes from Chris McKenna, Jessica Pavone, Eric Abalahin, Rebecca Viser, and David Nassar.

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The Brookings Cafeteria is a part of the Brookings Podcast Network.