warlords

A warlord is an individual who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region, often within a country without a strong national government, through usually informal or illegal coercive control over the local armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of history, albeit in a variety of different capacities within the political, economic, and social structure of states or ungoverned territories. The term is often applied in the context of China around the end of the Qing Dynasty, especially during the Warlord Era. The term can also be used for any supreme military leader.

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