How do we understand illicit violence? Can we prevent it? Building on behavioral science and economics, this book begins with the idea that humans are more predictable than we like to believe, and this ability to model human behavior applies equally well to leaders of violent and coercive...

All societies must deal with the possibility of violence, and they do so in different ways. This study integrates the problem of violence into a larger social science and historical framework, showing how economic and political behavior are closely linked ...