A warlord is a strong leader able to exercise military, economic, and political control over a subnational territory within a sovereign state because of their ability to mobilize loyal armed forces. These armed forces, usually considered militias, are loyal to the warlord rather than to the general government due to the background of the Warlords. 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.
