My name is Jack McDonald, I am currently a research student at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. My thesis concerns the analytical construct of ungoverned space, and as such I spend an awful lot of time reading about the fringes of the state system and the ability of states to exert influence in such regions. I have written a couple of non-refereed articles on the subject, and am hoping to engage in fieldwork this year. My primary research concerns the illicit trade in narcotics, and in the inability of states to curb it, despite copious resources being dedicated to this purpose. This blog may appear negative, since it will be largely concerned with the limits of state power, but I am not “anti state” by any means.