Combining path-breaking research and analysis from leading political scientists, advisors to heads of state, and award-winning academics, Warlords, Inc. pulls back the curtain on the secretive world of drug cartels and violent insurgencies, revealing their inner workings and implications for a world driven by unrelenting change and growing political uncertainty. These essays show how, as the complexities of modern geopolitical pressures mount, the world's elaborate but fragile political systems are becoming increasingly vulnerable to breakdown and deliberate disruption. The authors demonstrate that as infrastructures such as IT networks, global supply chains, and financial markets become increasingly volatile, the stability of entire populations hangs in the balance. Warlords, Inc. traces the evolution of forces that are reshaping the future of the geopolitical landscape: Mexican drug cartels, revolts in the Middle East and Africa, military conflicts in Eastern Europe, the growth of slums and street gangs in India, and the proliferation of cyber-attacks and drone warfare. The contributors demonstrate how the underworld of the global economy thrives, how it disrupts and maintains power, and why, looking toward the future, we should all be paying attention. CONTENTS 1. Of Warlords and Rodeos: What Happens When Nothing Works? 2. Social and Economic Collapse: Lessons from History and Complexity 3. Innovation, Deviation and Development: Warlords and Proto-State Provision 4. Sovereignty, Criminal Insurgency, & Drug Cartels: The Rise of a Post-State Society 5. From Patronage Politics to Predatory States:Crime and Governance in Africa 6. Warlord Governance: Transition Towards, or Coexistence with, the State? 7. 5GW: Into the Heart of Darkness 8. Weaponizing Capitalism: The Naxals of India 9. Mexico's Criminal Organizations: Weakness in Their Complexity, Strength in Their Evolution 10. The Politics of a Post-Climate-Change World: Pyongyang, Puntland, or Portland? 11. Bringing the End of War to the Global Badlands 12. The White Hats: A Multitude of Citizens 13. Beyond Survival: A Short Course in Pioneering Responses to Present (and Future) Crises

Frieda Winslow, a woman of faith, lives in southside Frampton, Illinois, amid the notorious Warlords, a deadly and seemingly unstoppable street gang known for their ruthlessness and neighborhood abductions. But Frieda is not about to back down. She confronts the criminal elements head-on and attempts to rally her fearful neighbors to peacefully stand united against the growing threat of the Warlords. While working to uplift those suffering around her, Frieda finds herself struggling to reconcile her own painful past. But when the city is under siege by the hostile takeover of the relentless street gang, Frieda unites a terrified community. The ultimate showdown occurs in Southside Community Park, where Frieda assembles the entire community in the midst of urban war. Confronted with her greatest enemy, Frieda relies on her faith in God. In an explosive and supernatural chain of events, the fate of the city rests solely on Frieda's decisive act of faith and reconciliation. It is only then that she discovers what it means to be forever restored.

Atlan Warlord Velik is hanging on to sanity by a thread. His mating fever rages. His beast fights him every moment. The beast needs to hunt. To kill. To find their mate or surrender to a glorious death in battle. He volunteers for a mission so dangerous, he knows he will not return. Waiting to deploy, he is lost, keeping distance between himself and those his tormented beast could destroy. His fate is sealed…until his beast picks up her scent. Sees her face. In an instant, the beast knows this human woman belongs to him and no one else. No beast has ever claimed his mate, then left her behind. If he survives the mission, he will beg her forgiveness. He must live. He must return to her, even if he suspects the gods themselves want him dead. *** If you love romance in the style of Ruby Dixon, Nalini Singh, Christine Feehan, J.R. Ward, Lara Adrian, S. E. Smith, Becca Brayden and out-of-this world outer space adventures like The Expanse, Star Trek, Star Wars and Stargate, be sure to read USAT Bestselling Author Grace Goodwin's bestselling science fiction and paranormal book series! Aliens, adventure, and hot romance all in one place! Over one MILLION books sold! Look for these SERIES by Grace Goodwin: Interstellar Brides® Program Interstellar Brides® Program: Primal Mates Interstellar Brides® Program: The Beasts Interstellar Brides® Program: The Colony Interstellar Brides® Program: The Virgins Interstellar Brides® Program: The Ascension Saga Starfighter Training Academy Secret Kingdoms: The Draquonir Tags: alien romance, sci-fi romance, science fiction romance, Interstellar Brides, genetic engineering, vampire, paranormal romance, psychic romance, horde, barbarian, shifter, space fleet, space opera, first contact, alien invasion, colonization, menage, mail-order bride, arranged marriage, shifter, mate, alien mate, fated mate, reverse harem, scifi romance, alien romance, planet, The Colony, IBP, Prillon, warrior, Atlan, Warlord, Everis, Hunter, Cyborg, Viken, Rogue 5, Kronos, Cerberus, Astra, matched mate, Trion, Coalition Fleet.

Basing his work strongly on documentary and archaeological sources, Alfred Smyth covers traditional topics in a thoroughly unconventional manner.

When Celestial Mates agent Freydon Rote whisked Carrie from her living room 430 years into a grim future, she never imagined she would end up mated to the cyborg general. She didn?t anticipate coming to love the other cyborgs like family, forging alliances, or winning a seemingly unwinnable war. Most of all, she never imagined having DVS84?s baby, but it?s almost time. She?s about to give birth, and everyone in the base is ready for the momentous occasion. Are a human woman and a cyborg general ready to meet their precious baby? Will Freydon Rote make an appearance? (Hint: Yes.) Find out in this latest installment of the Celestial Mates (and final installment of the Cybernetic Hearts) series by USA Today bestselling author Kit Tunstall, writing as Aurelia Skye. Please note this is a SHORT book meant to act as an epilogue for the characters and series. It is not as long as the other books in the series and is priced accordingly. Search Terms: baby, extended epilogue, happily ever after, science fiction romance, cyborg romance, cyborgs, military romance, futuristic romance, dystopian romance, fated mates, celestial mates ÿ

The veteran journalist and author of In the Hot Zone and The Things They Cannot Say explores the impact of more than a decade of war on Afghanistan, from the American invasion after 9/11 to today, and offers insights into its future and the possible consequences for the U.S. Kevin Sites made his first trip to Afghanistan in October 2001, staying 100 days to cover the U.S. invasion for NBC News. On his fifth trip to the country in June 2013, Sites retraced that first odyssey, contemplating the significant events of his original trip to explore what, if anything, has changed. He interviewed warlords, ex-Taliban fighters, politicians, women cops and dentists, farmers, drug addicts, international aid workers, diplomats, and military personnel. In Swimming with Warlords, Sites examines Afghanistan today through the prism of those two parallel journeys, exploring that nation’s past and considering its future in light of the drawdown of U.S. troops. As he tells the stories of the people he met—how they have been affected by this conflict that has cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives—Sites provides a fresh perspective on Afghanistan and America’s role there. Swimming with Warlords contains 30 black-and-white photos throughout.