Making War: Conflict Zones and Their Implications for Drug Policy

Abstract

The illicit drug economy has emerged as a major factor that can exacerbate violence, complicate peace negotiations and corrupt transitions from war to peace. Trafficking chains span continents, yet they often take root in fragile and conflict-affected states, where violent actors can exploit the ‘violent-governance paradigm’ to entrench their economic, political and social influence. When this combines with the international narcotics enforcement regime, it has proven to have detrimental consequences for the resolution of conflict, as well as for the long-term developmental trajectories of those whose livelihoods depend on the drug economy. A harm reduction approach can be argued for, but the drug policy community has yet to demonstrate that it can offer proven alternatives beyond the point of cultivation for actors further along drug supply chains.