Steel Magnolias by Sally Field

Steel Magnolias by Sally Field

Paul R. Kan offers an authoritative assessment of the increasingly important role that militias play in global security. Kan's book fills a critical gap in the literature, and is highly recommended for scholars and policymakers attempting to understand the diversity of violent non-state actors.

--Colin P. Clarke, Senior Research Fellow, The Soufan Center, USA

This work sets a new standard with regard to analysis of the impact of militias and paramilitaries--both understudied groups in contemporary conflict--on global stability and state fragility.

--Robert J. Bunker, former Minerva Chair, Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, USA

This book describes militias as significant and prevalent actors in today's international security environment. To separate them from other types of violent non-state groups, such as terrorists, guerrillas and insurgents, the author describes militias as local guardians that use violence to fill a variety of political, social and security gaps, which have created vulnerabilities for their particular constituencies. Although militias are local in orientation, their effects are not contained to particular countries and have only added to the instability in the international system. This book explores how militias contribute to international security issues by furthering state fragility, undermining human rights and democratization, enabling illicit trafficking, prolonging internal conflicts and fostering proxy wars.

Paul Rexton Kan is Professor of National Security Studies at the U.S. Army War College, USA. His work has been cited in the New York Times, Washington Post, Forbes and featured on the websites DefenseOne and Freakanomics.

Sally Field is a two-time Academy Award and three-time Emmy Award-winning actor who has portrayed dozens of iconic roles on both the large and small screens. In 2012 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and in 2015 she was honored by President Obama with the National Medal of Arts. She has served on the board of directors of Vital Voices since 2002 and also served on the board of The Sundance Institute from 1994 to 2010.