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Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security Audiobook
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A former adviser to the Joint Chiefs of Staff explains how government's oldest problem is its greatest destabilizing force. Thieves of State argues that corruption is not just a nuisance; it is a major source of geopolitical turmoil. Since the late 1990s, corruption has grown such that some governments now resemble criminal gangs, provoking extreme reactions ranging from revolution to militant puritanical religion. Through intensive firsthand reporting, Sarah Chayes explores the security implications of corruption throughout our world: Afghans returning to the Taliban, Egyptians overthrowing the Mubarak government-but also redesigning Al Qaeda-and Nigerians embracing both evangelical Christianity and Islamist terrorist groups like Boko Haram. The pattern, moreover, pervades history. Canonical political thinkers such as John Locke and Machiavelli, as well as the great medieval Islamic statesman Nizam al-Mulk, all named corruption as a threat to the realm. In a thrilling argument that connects the Protestant Reformation to the Arab Spring, Chayes asserts that we cannot afford not to attack corruption, for it is a cause, and not a result, of global instability.
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“Thieves of State…stands our understanding of the sources of violent extremism on its head, arguing that the governments we have been relying on to fight terrorism are themselves one of its most potent and insidious sources. Sarah Chayes weaves together history, adventure, political analysis, personal experience, culture, and religion in a shimmering and compelling tapestry.”
— Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO of the New America Foundation
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“Illuminating…scholars and CNN junkies alike should be intrigued by the issues Chayes brings up and impressed with the solutions she suggests.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Sarah Chayes provides a vivid, ground-level view on how pervasive corruption undermines US foreign policy and breeds insurgency. Thieves of State provides critical lessons that all policymakers should heed.”
— Francis Fukuyama, author of The End of History and the Last Man -
“In a stunning and compelling argument, Sarah Chayes transforms our understanding of the ugly reality behind sustained terrorism and other threats around the globe. She writes with an authenticity born of on-the-ground, in-the-markets, and at-the-headquarters experiences that are unmatched by any other American.”
— Eric Olson, retired US Navy Admiral
Awards
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A New York Times Editor’s Choice
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A Carnegie Medal for Literature Longlist Selection
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Winner of the 2016 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest
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About Sarah Chayes
Sarah Chayes is the author of Thieves of State, winner of the 2016 Los Angeles Times Book Prize, among other books. She is a former senior fellow in the Carnegie Endowment’s Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. From 1997 to 2002, she served as an overseas correspondent for NPR, reporting from Paris and the Balkans, as well as covering conflicts in Algeria. Her work as a correspondent for NPR during the Kosovo crisis earned her, together with other members of the NPR team, the 1999 Foreign Press Club and Sigma Delta Chi awards.