By Carolyn Nordstrom
 

Vast extra-state networks wield more influence than some formal nation-states, yet these networks are seldom described in United Nations documents or economic textbooks. Drawing on her extensive field experience in war zones throughout the world, Carolyn Nordstrom explores and defines these extra-state grids of economic and political power. These networks cross various divides between legal, quasi-legal, gray markets, and downright illegal blackmarkets. They range from high-tech arms and hard-currency-earning drugs to basic foodstuffs and clothing. Following these threads of supply and demand, Nordstrom charts a multi-billion, or even multi-trillion dollar a year series of interlinked "industries" and the power politics that keep them afloat. After examining several aspects of these networks, including their size, cohesiveness, and influence, she concludes that they are more formalized, integrated, and bound by rules of conduct than researchers often imply in studies of gray and blackmarkets.