The fraying modern map: Failed states and contraband capitalism

Inter‐relationships between markets and states are re‐making the world political map but in some instances these interactions have created zones of political conflict where the world political map is fraying and coming undone. In certain ‘wild zones’ of the world, state failure and illegal exchange are the prevalent processes conditioning civil and nationalist wars. This paper considers the general relationships between turbo‐globalisation, contraband capitalism, and failed states. Using the case of Russia and Chechnya, it seeks to illustrate and describe the illegal and illicit forms of governance that are fraying the ‘modern map’ and contributing to the complexity of the story of ‘nationalism in a globalising world.’