Idler, A.Voyvodic Casabo, Clara2024-12-202025-01-062024-12-202025-01-062025Idler A and Voyvodic Casabo C (2025) Rescaling Geoeconomics: The role of local illicit authority in global megaprojects. International Studies Quarterly. Accepted for publication.RMSID:24757http://hdl.handle.net/10454/20188YesThis article examines the influence of violent non-state actors (VNSAs) on the construction of large-scale infrastructure projects in conflict-affected territories. Recentering such territories, it challenges state-centric geoeconomic narratives, which often overlook the significant role of local illicit authorities in shaping project outcomes. The study demonstrates how geoeconomic ambitions, such as regional or global influence and energy security, depend on negotiating with local actors in contested territories. The findings reveal the blurred boundaries between domestic and international authority in these regions and suggest that megaprojects must account for multi-scalar authority dynamics. We illustrate our argument by analyzing the construction of two megadam projects: the Hidroituango dam in Colombia’s Antioquia department and the Myitsone dam in Myanmar’s Kachin State. Drawing on original evidence collected during extensive fieldwork comprising semi-structured interviews and observations in these two conflict-affected regions, we show that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and Myanmar’s Kachin Independence Army, respectively, exercised authority in regions where the state’s monopoly on violence was limited. These VNSAs obstructed or facilitated megaprojects based on tactics including extortion and community representation.en(c) 2025 Oxford University Press. Reproduced in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in the International Studies Quarterly following peer-review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version, Idler A and Voyvodic Casabo C (2025) Rescaling Geoeconomics: The role of local illicit authority in global megaprojects. International Studies Quarterly. Accepted for publication, is available online at: xxxxxxx.VNSAsViolent Non-State ActorsConflictInfrastructure projectsGeoeconomicsEnergy securityArticleUnspecified2024-12-20