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The warlord as arbitrageur

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Abstract

This article seeks to generate a more precise understanding of the emergence and perpetuation of warlords. First, it offers a simple, intuitive, and empirically grounded conceptual definition of warlordism. Second, it argues that the primary factor contributing to the success of warlords is the ability to take advantage of price differentials for political, economic, and cultural goods across terrains—in a word, to arbitrage. Third, it illustrates this model with a case study of Khun Sa (1934–2007), the self-proclaimed Shan freedom-fighter and “king” of Burma’s heroin trade. Finally, it suggests that the international community rethink its commitment to the norm of sovereignty in order to combat the proliferation of such non-state violence-wielders.

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Notes

  1. On China, see Robinson (2001), Tong (1991); On the Ottoman Empire, see Barkey (1994); On the Russian Empire, see King (2008), Crews (2006).

  2. We borrow this term from Volkov (2002), who uses it in a rather different sense.

  3. For purposes of clarity, we use the term Burmese to refer to the entire modern country, Burman for the ethnic majority in the country. See Aung Tun (2009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of International Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73016, USA

    Ariel I. Ahram

  2. Department of Government, Georgetown University, 37th & O Streets NW, Washington, DC, 20057, USA

    Charles King

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  1. Ariel I. Ahram
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  2. Charles King
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Correspondence to Ariel I. Ahram.

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Ahram, A.I., King, C. The warlord as arbitrageur. Theor Soc 41, 169–186 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-011-9162-4

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