In the book Warlords: Strong-Arm Brokers in Weak States, the author, Kimberly Marten, analytically and theoretically examines past and present cases of warlords; examining their rise to power, their effect on states, their relationship with internal and external state political leaders, and the common themes that arise from each warlord case. In this book, Marten studies the impact of warlordism through four different case studies, each covering different time periods and regions: the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan, the Upper Kodori and 'Ajara of Georgia, the Russian province of Chechnya and the United States. ' support of Sunni warlords in Iraq. According to Marten, warlords are “individuals who control small pieces of territory using a combination of force and cronyism” and who “rule in defiance of true state sovereignty but through the complicity of state leaders” ( Martora 3). After a brief overview, he then examines the case of warlords in Pakistan's FATA region, an area that divides the rest of Pakistan from Afghanistan (Marten 32). This region is prominent for its hostile tribal groups and instability due to its division between Afghanistan and Pakistan (both weak states on a global scale) (Marten 36). These tribal leaders were given the power to be warlords by the Pakistani state, to govern and maintain stability in an otherwise “ungovernable” region (Marten 16-17). The idea behind this case is the trade-off between a false sense of short-term stability and the long-term development of this region. State officials have given these warlords protection and leeway in exchange for security along the vulnerable border. While stability is evident in this region allowing warlords… half of the paper… as shown and as Downes argues, regime changes can return states to their initial phase and potentially lead to worse circumstances and more . vulnerability for that State. Therefore, I must agree with Downes and conclude that regime changes, even if it means maintaining the power of warlords, are too risky a task for a state. In conclusion, a state cannot allow a warlord to gain power, no matter how dire the situation they are in, otherwise they will face a future of political instability in those regions. Works CitedArt, Robert J. and Robert Jervis. "On the coasts of Tripoli? Regime change and its consequences." International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues. Eleventh ed. New York, New York: HarperCollins, 1992. 429-436. Print.Marten, Kimberly. Warlords: Strong intermediaries in weak states. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012. Print.