ABSTRACT
This book has studied case studies from every region of the developing world to identify the underlying commonality tying together multiple manifestations of paramilitary violence. The backers, financiers, perpetrators, and victims of such violence encompass a broad and diverse range. Nonetheless, all the case studies point to the central role played by paramilitary violence in reinforcing existing structures of political, social, or economic inequality. The findings challenge the widespread notion that violence in our times is wielded by the poor and dispossessed as an expression of discontent and demonstrate the significance of paramilitary violence as an instrument of movements from above. The findings also invite us to re-think the changing nature of the state in the age of neoliberalism.
