Drugs and armed conflicts
In regions of conflict, drugs production and trade often play an important role besides other illegal activities. One basic question of conflict research is whether or not drugs cultivation and trade have a direct influence on armed conflict or even trigger or exacerbate such conflict. To be able to judge such interdependencies, data must be collected, which—in view of the situation that is characterized by illegal activities—is difficult and may lead to wrong conclusions.
According to estimates by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the income from the international drugs trade in 2003 amounted to US $322 million, which is far higher than the GDP of 88 per cent of all countries. Available data on the respective producing areas and their yield differ greatly depending on the source used. Police data mostly refer to the number of arrests, illegal trade and supply need. One must assume, however, that there is a huge gap between the real drugs market and the information the security forces receive.
Coca and opium-producing countries, such as Afghanistan, Bolivia, Colombia, Laos, Myanmar and Peru, are the hotspots of the drugs–conflicts problem. Then, the transit and target countries for drugs are of interest; whereas it must be said that the transit countries, in particular, can change depending on the situation on the ground. Governments of producing and transit countries—so-called failed states—are often weak. The monopoly of violence of the state is often lacking, there is insufficient rule of law, high corruption and general instability.
Actors in the drugs–conflict problem are rural producers, conflict parties and terrorists, but also transnational organized criminals. Often, drugs cultivation and smuggling are the only secure mode of income for the rural population during armed conflict. In remote areas women and children, for instance, cultivate the hardy plants without knowing much about it and sell them while the male population is fighting in the conflict. Through their cultivation and smuggling or the levies on these activities, drugs contribute to the financing of conflict parties and terrorist organizations—even if drugs cultivation or smuggling cannot really be reconciled with their original ideology. Often, due to their immense profit margin, drugs become main income of these groups.
Drugs will have to be transported from the producing country via transit countries into a consumer county. Transnational criminal organizations plan and execute illegal activities in various countries. Smuggling and human trafficking are considered "transnational organized crime" (Definition: United Nations). The fight against such crime is very difficult as it often only consists of loosely connected cells that can react quickly to changed situations. These loose networks can quickly close gaps in supply and react flexibly towards problems and dangers. Like this, the organization itself remains functional even if some cells 'discontinue'. To catch the masterminds behind the transnational organized crime is often extremely difficult because of the large geographic spread of actions. In total, this kind of drug-related crime is a great challenge to the security apparatuses that can only be successful when they cooperate across national borders.
When groups enter into the drugs trade, their original cause of conflict often loses importance; at the same time, economic issues that arise from the sale and cultivation of drugs keep it alive. It is important to realize that drugs do not trigger conflict. At the same time, dealing with drugs often has a direct influence on the respective actors; for instance, when peasants and fighters themselves become addicted to the substances. Finally, the drugs–conflict problem sets in motion a spiral of violence on different levels. Violence is used, for instance, to maintain the new cultivation and sales structures and to expand the resources land and water for cultivation. The drugs-related crime of addicts in this context is a problem of its own. If a country has developed this far, one can speak of a drugs economy, which means that the drugs market has become an important force either regionally or in the entire country.
To solve the drugs–conflict problem, society, policymakers and scientists have to develop highly complex approaches. In the past, many cases have shown that suggested measures have not lived up to expectations. Direct action against producers and traders, for example, hardly changes the situation as there are so many others who are prepared to fill the gaps in production or transport—a phenomenon called the "balloon effect".
A policy that generates alternative income opportunities for farmers so that they can decrease the cultivation and thus the amount of drugs produced seems to be more promising. It would also make sense to take preventative measures for drug addiction in the target countries to curb the demand for drugs there. As the problem occurs across borders, common, international action must be elaborated and coordinated. Such action ought to be taken simultaneously across as many levels as possible to take advantage of synergy effects. GTZ (today GIZ) has compiled eleven points that are intended to help control drugs on an international scale, amongst them are increased cooperation among the actors, fostering of good governance, reform or expansion of the security sector, support of alternative survival strategies and the expansion of research.
All in all, greater attention must be paid to the interplay between challenges regarding drugs and development in the context of armed conflicts. Only if policymakers can understand these interdependencies better can they take more effective action. So far, more intensive research on these interdependencies of drugs and armed conflict has only been conducted on Colombia and Afghanistan despite the fact that the initial positions in the two countries were and still are very different. This research has to continue, and further countries have to follow.
Sources and further information:
- Die transnationale organisierte Kriminalität (TOK); in Internationale Politik Nov/Dez 2010 Nr. 6.
- Graubner, Cornelius (2007): Drugs and Conflict. How the mutual impact of illicit drug economies and violent conflict influences sustainable development, peace and stability. GTZ and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
- Harrendorf, Stefan, Heiskanen, Markku und Steven Malby (2010): International Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice. UNODC & Heuni.
