This volume does four things. Firstly it examines the nexus between the illegal narcotics enterprise as a social phenomenon and political economy as a scholarly issue area. Secondly it explores the regional and global contexts of the political economy of illegal narcotics operations in the Caribbean. Thirdly it assesses some of the political economy connections and consequences of the enterprise in the region. Finally, it discusses some of the measures adopted to contend with the illegal drug challenge in the area.
Studies of the global political economy have rarely engaged with development in the Caribbean, the thought of its indigenous intellectuals, or the non-sovereign territories of the region. Matthew Bishop compares the development of the independent English-speaking islands of St Lucia and St Vincent and their non-sovereign French neighbours, Martinique and Guadeloupe. By explaining how distinctive patterns of British and French colonialism and decolonisation came to bear on them, he investigates how very different patterns of development have subsequently ensued, often with startling consequences in this era of globalization and crisis. By engaging with the empirical reality of the Caribbean, his study sheds light on a range of wider debates relating to development, indigenous thought, post-colonial sovereignty, small states, and the contemporary evolution of the global political economy.
"This comprehensive volume makes a substantive and unique contribution to understanding the drug trade at the national, regional, and global levels. Bringing together respected scholars and analysts from diverse disciplines and from Latin America, Europe, and the United States, it is the most important single volume in the field this decade."--Michael Gold-Biss, American University Stemming from an international conference held in Utrecht, this collection encompasses the political, economic, social, and legal aspects of the illegal drug industry. The introduction provides an overview of the political economy of the drug industry followed by discussions of the impact of the drug industry on the Latin American source countries; drug trafficking and money laundering; the war on drugs, transnational crime, and international security; and current options for intervention and control. Contents Part I. Introduction 1. The Political Economy of the Drug Industry: Its Structure and Functioning, by Menno Vellinga Part II. The Drug Industry: Its Impact on Economy, Politics, and Society and the Drug Control Effort in Source Countries 2. Has Bolivia Won the War? Lessons from Plan Dignidad, by Eduardo A. Gamarra 3. Questionable Alliances in the War on Drugs: Peru and the United States, by Mariano Valderrama and Hugo Cabieses 4. Illegal Drugs in Colombia: From Illegal Economic Boom to Social Crisis, by Francisco E. Thoumi 5. Mexico: Drugs and Politics, by Luis Astorga 6. The Political Economy of Drugs in the Caribbean: Problems without Passports, by Ivelaw L. Griffith Part III. Trafficking and Money Laundering 7. The Political Economy of Drug Smuggling, by Peter Reuter 8. Post-Fordist Cocaine: Labor and Business Relations among Colombian Dealers, by Damián Zaitch 9. Follow the Money: Anti-Money-Laundering Policies and Financial Investigations, by Ernesto Savona Part IV. The Drug Industry and the War on Drugs 10. Perversely Harmful Effects of Counter-Narcotics Policy in the Andes, by Rensselaer Lee 11. Diverging Trends in Global Drug Policy, by Martin Jelsma 12. Multilateral Drug Control, by Sandeep Chawla 13. The European Union and Drug Control: Issues and Trends, by Tim Boekhout van Solinge Part V. Drugs, Transnational Crime, and International Security 14. Globalization and Transnational Organized Crime: The Russian Mafia in Latin America and the Caribbean, by Bruce Michael Bagley 15. The War against Drugs and the Interests of Governments, by Alain Labrousse 16. Drugs and Transnational Organized Crime: Conceptualization and Solutions, by Ybo Buruma Part VI. Conclusion 17. The Drug Industry, Its Economic, Social, and Political Effects, and the Options of Intervention and Control, by Menno Vellinga Menno Vellinga has served as professor of development geography and director of the Institute of Development Studies at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. He presently occupies the Bacardi Chair for Eminent Visiting Scholars at the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Florida.
This book develops a comparative study on violence in Jamaica, El Salvador, and Belize based on a theoretical approach, extensive field research, and in-depth empirical research. It combines the Caribbean and Central America into a single comparative research that explores the historical (from the conquista onwards) as well as contemporary causes of violence in these societies. The volume focuses on forms of violence such as gang violence, police violence, every day forms of violence, vigilantism, and organized crime. The analysis provides a theoretical perspective that bridges political economy as well as cultural approaches in violence research. As such, it will be of interest to readers studying development, violence, political, Central American, and Caribbean studies.
This report is one of several studies conducted by UNODC on organized crime threats around the world. These studies describe what is known about the mechanics of contraband trafficking - the what, who, how, and how much of illicit flows - and discuss their potential impact on governance and development. Their primary role is diagnostic, but they also explore the implications of these findings for policy. Publisher's note.
Bribes, Bullets, and Intimidation is the first book to examine drug trafficking through Central America and the efforts of foreign and domestic law enforcement officials to counter it. Drawing on interviews, legal cases, and an array of Central American sources, Julie Bunck and Michael Fowler track the changing routes, methods, and networks involved, while comparing the evolution and consequences of the drug trade through Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama over a span of more than three decades. Bunck and Fowler argue that while certain similar factors have been present in each of the Central American states, the distinctions among these countries have been equally important in determining the speed with which extensive drug trafficking has taken hold, the manner in which it has evolved, the amounts of different drugs that have been transshipped, and the effectiveness of antidrug efforts.
In this book, Horace Bartilow develops a theory of embedded corporatism to explain the U.S. government's war on drugs. Stemming from President Richard Nixon's 1971 call for an international approach to this "war," U.S. drug enforcement policy has persisted with few changes to the present day, despite widespread criticism of its effectiveness and of its unequal effects on hundreds of millions of people across the Americas. While researchers consistently emphasize the role of race in U.S. drug enforcement, Bartilow's empirical analysis highlights the class dimension of the drug war and the immense power that American corporations wield within the regime. Drawing on qualitative case study methods, declassified U.S. government documents, and advanced econometric estimators that analyze cross-national data, Bartilow demonstrates how corporate power is projected and embedded—in lobbying, financing of federal elections, funding of policy think tanks, and interlocks with the federal government and the military. Embedded corporatism, he explains, creates the conditions by which interests of state and nonstate members of the regime converge to promote capital accumulation. The subsequent human rights repression, illiberal democratic governments, antiworker practices, and widening income inequality throughout the Americas, Bartilow argues, are the pathological policy outcomes of embedded corporatism in drug enforcement.
Transnational crime remains a particularly serious problem in Latin America, with most issues connected to the drug trade. There are several relevant roles that the U.S. Air Force can and should play in boosting Mexico's capacity to counter drug production and trafficking, as well as further honing and adjusting its wider counternarcotics effort in Latin America.
This volume aims to illustrate the uniqueness of the economies of the countries and territories of the Caribbean as well as the similarities they share with other regions. While most countries in the region share many of the characteristics of middle-income countries, theirs is a matter of extremes. Their generally small size suggests a fragility not found elsewhere. While much of the world is beginning to feel some effects of climate change, the Caribbean is ground zero. These factors suggest a difficult road ahead, but the chapters presented in this volume aim to help to spur the search for creative solutions to the region’s problems. The chapters, written by expert contributors, examine the Caribbean economies from several perspectives. Many break new ground in questioning past policy mindsets, while developing new approaches to many of the traditional constraints limiting growth in the region. The volume is organized in four sections. Part I examines commonalities, including issues surrounding small economies, tourism, climate change and energy security. Part II looks at obstacles to sustained progress, for example debt, natural disasters and crime. In Part III chapters consider the specific role of external influences, including the USA and the European Union, the People's Republic of China, as well as regional co-operation. The volume concludes in Part IV with country case studies intended to provide a sense of the diversity that runs through the region.
