Shadows and sovereigns

This is an ethnographic and theoretical exploration of the 'shadows': vast transnational networks of goods, services, people and exchanges that flow o utside formal and legal state channels and international laws. These networ ks involve millions of people and more than a trillion dollars yearly world wide, and my research demonstrates these are more formalized, integrated an d rule-bound than traditional studies have suggested. Thus,'shadow' network s broker political, economic and social power that can rival many of the wo rld's states, and they are profoundly implicated in world markets. This art icle explores core characteristics and cultures defining extant extra-state systems, and the power and potentialities for social sovereignty they wiel d. Investigation into shadow realities prompts a reassessment of the basic theoretical ideas concerning the nexus of legality/illegality;, state/non-s tate and formal/non-formal power relations defining the world today.