Drugs And Contemporary Warfare

by Kan, Paul Rexton

• ISBN13: 9781597972574
• ISBN10: 1597972576
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-01-16
• Publisher: Potomac Books Inc

Summary

The relationship between drugs and today's wars has grown more noticeable since the end of the Cold War and will likely gather strength in this era of increased globalization. Many violent groups and governments have recently turned to illicit narcotics in their entrepreneurial quests to stay viable in the post'Cold War world. It is no coincidence that many of the most violent and ongoing conflicts, from the Balkans to the Hindu Kush, from the Andes to the Golden Triangle, occur in areas of widespread drug production and well-traveled distribution routes. Interdisciplinary in its approach, Drugs and Contemporary Warfareinvestigates the convergence of drugs and modern warfare, the violent actors involved in the drug trade, the drugs they produce and distribute, and how these drugs enter into battlefield conflicts and give rise to combat narcosis. Paul Rexton Kan then examines counternarcotics operations and suggests solutions to curb the drug trade's effects on contemporary conflict. He offers several broad strategies that refine assessments, policies, and operations to promote improvement in social, economic, and political conditions. The hope is that these strategies will help citizens create sustainable societies and robust governments in war-afflicted countries struggling under the drug trade's shadow. In a world searching for peace, the answer may not solely be on the battlefield but also on the front line against illegal narcotics. With a foreword by Moisés Naím, editor in chief of Foreign Policymagazine and the author of Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats Are Hijacking the Global Economy.

Table of Contents

List of Tables	p. vii
Foreword	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Hazy Shades of War	p. 1
Drugging the Battlefield: Drugs as War Funding	p. 19
High at War: Drug Use by Combatants	p. 47
Narcotics and Nation-Building: Drug Trade as Post-Conflict Complication	p. 67
Sober Lessons for the Future: The Dynamics of Drug-Fueled Conflicts	p. 93
Shaky Paths Forward: Strategies and Approaches in Drug-Fueled Conflicts	p. 117
Notes	p. 147
Bibliography	p. 173
Index	p. 189
About the Author	p. 193
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