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12. Eyes Wide Shut: Counter-Narcotics in Transition
- Author:
- David Mansfield and Paul Fishstein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- It is now clear that the production and trade of opiates will have a significant influence on not only the economic, political and security landscape, but even the physical terrain of post-Transition Afghanistan. Levels of opium poppy cultivation are already rising; estimated cultivated area rose by 18 percent in 2012 and is likely to rise significantly over the next few years. And this trend may intensify further as politico-military actors make deals and form coalitions in response to the 2014 handover of security responsibility from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) to the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
- Topic:
- NATO, International Cooperation, Drugs, Trade, and Illegal Trade
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
13. Where Have all the Flowers Gone? Assessing the Sustainability of Current Reductions in Opium Poppy Cultivation
- Author:
- David Mansfield
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Levels of opium poppy cultivation have fallen in Afghanistan for two consecutive years and it now appears that cultivation will be maintained at this relatively low level for another year. This briefing paper examines the reasons behind the reductions and assesses their sustainability, with special emphasis on the key provinces of Nangarhar and Helmand. It identifies instability and drops in livelihood standards caused by coercive reductions in opium poppy cultivation, and finds that increasing levels of wheat production do not reflect a sustainable shift from opium production, but instead are a sign of market failure, growing concerns over food security, and coercion.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Food, Rural, Drugs, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
14. Counter-Narcotics in Afghanistan: The Failure of Success?
- Author:
- David Mansfield and Adam Pain
- Publication Date:
- 12-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- The briefing paper argues that to truly understand what will create sustainable change in the Afghan opium industry, observers need to improve the tools being used to measure the success of counter-narcotics efforts. Measuring opium poppy-cultivated area serves as one of the few—and, in some cases, the only—means of gauging counter-narcotics success or failure. But relying on this indicator alone will not give policymakers an accurate sense of what drives opium poppy cultivation or what will sustainably reduce it. Until new indicators can inform counter-narcotic policy, perceptions of “failure” or “success” will likely continue to focus on short-term fixes rather than reach the root of the problem with long-term solutions. The paper concludes that a number of other indicators should be studied to improve policy concerning opium, including: incomes, physical security, food security, commodity markets and cropping system diversification. It also offers viable suggestions for ways to measure these markers of success or failure.
- Topic:
- Security, Drugs, Trade, Sustainability, and Farming
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
15. Afghanistan’s Hidden Drug Problem: The Misuse of Psychotropics
- Author:
- David MacDonald
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- Over the past decade, Afghanistan has gained notoriety as the world’s leading producer of opium and heroin. What is less well known is that, according to available evidence, the country itself also has an increasing number of problem drug users. Apart from dependency, addiction and other health-related problems, problem drug use can lead to a wide range of social, economic and legal problems that affect individuals, families and communities. It is not only the use of illicit substances that leads to problem drug use. It also results from the use of psychotropics — pharmaceutical drugs like painkillers and tranquillisers that have a psychoactive effect — in ways not recommended by a qualified doctor or the manufacturer.
- Topic:
- Drugs, Illegal Trade, Medicine, and Trade Deficit
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
16. Evidence from the Field: Understanding Changing Levels of Opium Poppy Cultivation in Afghanistan
- Author:
- David Mansfield and Adam Pain
- Publication Date:
- 11-2007
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- For many rural households the cultivation of opium poppy represents the key means by which they can achieve welfare under the conditions of pervasive risk and insecurity in Afghanistan. This briefing paper argues that understanding changing levels of opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan requires recognition of the multifunctional role of opium poppy cultivation in the livelihoods of rural Afghan households.
- Topic:
- Security, Agriculture, Rural, Drugs, and Farming
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
17. Alternative Livelihoods: Substance or Slogan?
- Author:
- David Mansfield and Adam Pain
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
- Abstract:
- This briefing paper examines what is needed to effectively pursue alternative livelihoods as a goal of counter-narcotics, and argues for conventional development interventions to be viewed through a counter-narcotics lens to establish how they impact on opium poppy cultivation.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Drugs, Illegal Trade, and Farming
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East