GANGSTERS AND OTHER STATESMEN Gangsters and Other Statesmen Mafias, Separatists, and Torn States in a Globalized World Danilo Mandić PRINCE TON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCE­TON­AND­OXFORD Copyright © 2021 by Prince ton University Press Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to permissions@press . princeton . edu Published by Prince ton University Press 41 William Street, Prince ton, New Jersey 08540 6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR press . princeton . edu All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Control Number 2020943969 Cloth ISBN 978-0-691-18787-7 Paperback ISBN 978-0-691-18788-4 E- book ISBN 978-0-691-20005-7 British Library Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available Editorial: Meagan Levinson and Jacqueline Delaney Production Editorial: Jill Harris Cover Design: Pamela L. Schnitter Production: Brigid Ackerman Publicity: Kate Hensley and Kathryn Stevens Copyeditor: Cindy Milstein Cover image: Feodosian regiment of Zaporozhian Cossack troops polices the lakes around Feodosia, Crimea, 2010. Photograph by Anastasia Taylor-Lind This book has been composed in Adobe Text and Gotham Printed on acid- free paper. ∞ Printed in the United States of Amer i ca 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is dedicated to survivors in torn states around the world. CONTENTS List of Tables ix Abbreviations xi PART I. SEPARATISM, MEET MAFIA 1 Introduction 3 2 Normal Bedfellows 16 PART II. KOSOVO AND SOUTH OSSETIA 3 The Third Man 39 4 Mafia Filter 63 5 Smuggling Kidneys and Uranium 82 PART III. THREE REGIONS 6 West Africa 105 7 Middle East 124 8 Eastern Eu rope 146 9 Conclusion 171 Appendix 179 Notes 209 References 245 Index 273 vii TABLES 1. Typology of Mafias 35 2. Effects of Divergent Mafia Roles 61 3. Mafia Filtering of Regional Drug and Arms Traffics 65 4. Drug Seizures in Serbia and Georgia, 1993–2011 190 5. Separatist Movements in Three Regions, 1989–2019 198 ix