On 27 January 2023, The Brookings Institution released part I of the Initiative on Nonstate Armed Actors annual briefing book. The newly released commentary discusses some of the key trends, issues, and priority areas regarding illicit economies, organized crime, and nonstate armed actors and policies toward them.

Part I includes the following articles:

• Somalia’s challenges in 2023 by Vanda Felbab-Brown
• The Houthis after the Yemeni cease-fire by Bruce Riedel
• Syria’s dissolving line between state and nonstate actors by Steven Heydemann
• The risk of election violence in the United States in 2024 by Daniel L. Byman

The initiative’s work focuses on the following core themes:

• COVID-19’s impacts
• Illicit economies and governance by nonstate armed actors
• Right-wing militias, white supremacy, and homeland security
• Natural resource extraction
• Interplay with geopolitics and internal politics
• Policy responses

Read more about the initiative

The views presented in this article are those of the speaker or author and do not necessarily represent the views of DoD or its components.