The Other Drug Wars

For many in the U.S., the War on Drugs conjures images of Mexican narcotraffickers and Colombian cartels. But illicit drug production and trafficking have long been global phenomena. In Southeast Asia, a resurgent drug trade has underscored the limitations of regional counternarcotics approaches, while in West Africa, interdiction successes leave more questions than answers about what remains an opaque problem. And in Afghanistan, a decade of U.S. efforts has done little to advance either counternarcotics or counterinsurgency objectives.

Articles in this feature

Southeast Asia's Thriving Drug Trade

By Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy, , Feature

After a brief decline in the past decade, illicit opium production in Southeast Asia has rebounded. Clearly, counternarcotics efforts have failed to suppress or permanently reduce both production and trafficking in the region. The explanation lies in the fact that regional counternarcotics efforts have emphasized measures that have proven ineffective if not counterproductive. more

The Drug War in West Africa

By Gernot Klantschnig, , Feature

The current concern about the West African drug trade has been driven by mounting drug seizures and arrests, but in fact, heroin and cocaine have been traded through West Africa for more than 30 years. International policy responses to West Africa’s drug problems have only recently gained momentum, to largely ambiguous effect. more

War and Drugs in Afghanistan

By Vanda Felbab-Brown, , Feature

Since 2001, Afghanistan has become synonymous with the term “narcostate." Unfortunately, many of the counternarcotics policies adopted during most of the past decade not only failed to reduce the size and scope of the illicit economy in Afghanistan, but also had serious counterproductive effects on the other objectives of peace, state-building and economic reconstruction. more

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