Conflict, crime, and the state in postcommunist Eurasia

Description

In the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union and its zone of influence, few insurgent groups had the resources necessary to confront regular armies. At the same time, state-sponsored financial support for insurgencies dramatically decreased. The pressing need to raise funds for war and the weakness of law enforcement in conflict zones create fertile conditions for organized crime; indeed, there is a mounting body of evidence correlating armed conflict and illicit economy, though the nature of this link and its impact on regional politics has not been well understood. This book explores the relationship between ideologically motivated insurgents and profit-motivated criminal organizations in eight conflict zones. Through detailed case studies, the contributors demonstrate how the operations and incentives of insurgents may emerge and shift over time: for some armed groups, crime can become an end in itself beyond a financial means, but not all armed groups equally adapt to illicit commerce. This book places the case studies along a continuum of political and criminal behavior, examining the factors that motivate insurgents to seek out criminal alliance, how this connection affects the dynamics of conflict, and what risks remain during postconflict transition. These findings will provide a better understanding of the types of challenges likely to confront peacekeeping and statebuilding endeavors in other parts of the world.0. The nexus of crime and conflict / Svante Cornell and Michael Jonsson -- Afghanistan's endless conflict and the development of the opium industry / Svante Cornell -- Tajikistan : from drug insurgency to drug-state nexus / Johan Engvall -- The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan / Svante Cornell -- From Chechen mafia to the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus : the changing faces of the insurgency-organized crime nexus / Murad Batal al-Shishani -- Georgia's conflicts : Abkhazia and South Ossetia / Niklas Nilsson -- Moldova : the Transnistrian conflict / Alexandru Molcean and Natalie Verständig -- Bosnia-Herzegovina : where international wars, transnational crime, and shady politics meet / Jana Arsovska -- The Kosovo Conflict : from humanitarian intervention to state capture / Michael Jonsson -- Conclusions and implications for conflict resolution and peacekeeping / Svante Cornell and Michael Jonsson.