“In Blood Money: How Criminals, Militias, Rebels, and Warlords Finance Violence, Dr. Margaret Sankey has written the definitive account of the creation, flow, and employment of dirty money over the past half century. Utilizing a vast array of scholarly work, reportage, and government studies, Dr. Sankey reveals how violent non-state actors (ranging from revolutionary ideologues devoted to political change to purely criminal organizations dedicated to making money) exploit a variety of opportunities (from arbitrage to officially sanctioned fund-raising to drug running) to generate resources. She then connects this discussion with a magisterial account of how those actors exploit their flexibility and nimbleness to transport those resources, finance their activities (most importantly acts of violence), and sustain themselves. Her discussion connects diverse areas of scholarship, including those that address banks and currency networks, state stability, resource curses, organized crime, drug cartels, unconventional warfare, insurgencies and insurgents, terrorism and terrorists, the diamond industry, lobbying and interest groups, the fine arts and antiquities communities, and regional studies. The attention she draws to the connections between state intelligence agencies and dirty money is particularly sobering. Blood Money's expansive discussion of the phenomena of dirty money, its deep analysis of the vast number of processes and actors associated with dirty money, and its careful discussion of possible ways to combat dirty money will make this book of immense value to policymakers, enforcement officials, and scholars alike.” —David J. Lorenzo, Ph.D. Professor, College of International Affairs, National Chengchi University

“Behind every successful criminal enterprise is a bureaucrat managing the books and demanding receipts. Sankey’s deeply researched, witty, and engaging book offers a fascinating, albeit disturbing, journey into how violent non-state actors are funding their operations in every sector of the global financial system with ever increasing return on investment.” —Frank A. Blazich, Jr., military history curator, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

“In today’s increasingly interconnected world, the criminal manifestations of unchecked greed impact all of us – politically, socially, culturally, economically. Money is the incentive of illicit, violent, non-state actors. Blood Money is a fascinating exposure of transnational criminality and its exploitation of globalization; it also offers insights to help counter illicit financial flows.” —John Cassara, author and former CIA Case Officer and Treasury Special Agent (retired)

“This book ‘follows the money’ into the dim alleys and swank lobbies of the global illicit economy, revealing in vivid detail how it is entwined with modern conflict. Sankey’s refreshingly jargon-free style makes the book suitable for undergraduates, while the dispassionate and meticulous research will thrill scholars who study Violent Non State Actors (VNSAs). The chapter on art and antiquities is a unique contribution. Sankey concludes with a call for patient, unglamorous cooperation among governments and private sector organizations, as well as between prosperous and developing countries.” —Dr. Karthika Sasikumar, professor, Department of Political Science at San Jose State University, California

"... timely nods to the role that financial networks play in enabling and supporting the work of violent non-state actors, extremist organizations and transnational organized crime. Sankey consistently applies her analysis to real-world case-studies, broadening the readers’ horizons on what financial crime might look like in a practical, day-to-day sense." — Oxford Academic International Affairs