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32. Is treating the symptoms the way forward?
- Author:
- Ian Perrin and David L Heymann
- Publication Date:
- 09-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- The war on drugs has been bad for the world's health. Concentrating on criminalizing the producers, traffickers and consumers of narcotics, it has failed to reduce supply. UN figures show that drug consumption during the decade after 1998 rose, with a 34.5 per cent increase in the number of opiate users, 27 per cent rise in cocaine users, and 8.5 per cent rise in cannabis users.
- Topic:
- War on Drugs
- Political Geography:
- Britain, Germany, Australia, and Switzerland
33. Countering Criminal Violence in Central America
- Author:
- Michael Shifter
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Central America is increasingly beset by spreading criminal violence. In the northern triangle—Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala—insecurity is particularly severe and widespread. In 2010, these countries ranked among the highest homicide rates (per one hundred thousand people) in the world: Honduras with eighty-two, El Salvador with sixty- six, and Guatemala with forty-one; in comparison, the homicide rate in the United States was less than five. The toll has been considerable, tallying nearly seventeen thousand murders in the northern triangle in 2011 and showing no signs of abating. The other four Central American states have also witnessed both heightened domestic insecurity and rising rates of crime and violence.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Corruption, Crime, War on Drugs, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Latin America and Central America
34. Drugs in Afghanistan—A Forgotten Issue?
- Author:
- William Byrd and David Mansfield
- Publication Date:
- 05-2012
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Opium will continue to be an important part of the Afghan landscape—with political and security as well as economic ramifications. The ongoing security transition (2011-2014) will be accompanied by greater risks to Afghanistan's polity, security and economy from the illicit drug industry—including through likely further increases in opium production.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Corruption, Crime, Terrorism, War on Drugs, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan
35. The War on Drugs and HIV/AIDS: How the Criminalization of Drug Use Fuels the Global Pandemic
- Author:
- Global Commission On Drug Policy
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Global Commission On Drug Policy
- Abstract:
- The global “war on drugs” is driving the HIV/AIDS pandemic among people who use drugs, although research has shown that repressive law enforcement forces users away from public health services and into hidden environments where HIV risk becomes markedly elevated. An assessments of the impacts concluded that many nations and international organizations tasked with reducing the drug problem have actually contributed to a worsening of community health and safety. The time for leadership is now.
- Topic:
- HIV/AIDS, Health, War on Drugs, and Drugs
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
36. Andean-U.S. Dialogue Forum: Toward a Common Agenda for the Andean Countries and the United States
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Carter Center
- Abstract:
- An opening product of the Andean-U.S. Dialogue Forum, this report is intended to spur conversations on more effective cooperation by identifying convergences and divergences in priorities among the countries and the citizens of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia and the United States. It seeks to open the door to a better understanding of the internal dynamics in each country and to reduce stereotypes that impede cooperation to resolve mutual challenges. This report highlights the transnational issues of energy, climate change, trade, and illegal drugs, recognizing that beneficial progress will demand a collective response from all.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, International Trade and Finance, Regional Cooperation, and War on Drugs
- Political Geography:
- United States, Colombia, Latin America, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia
37. The Drug War in Mexico: Confronting a Shared Threat
- Author:
- David A. Shirk
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on Foreign Relations
- Abstract:
- Mexico is in the midst of a worsening security crisis. Explosive clashes and territorial disputes among powerful drug trafficking organizations (DTOs) have killed more than thirty-five thousand people since President Felipe Calderón took office in December 2006. The geography of that violence is limited but continues to spread, and its targets include a growing number of government officials, police officers, journalists, and individuals unrelated to the drug trade. The Mexican government has made the war on drugs its top priority and has even called in the military to support the country's weak police and judicial institutions. Even so, few Mexican citizens feel safer today than they did ten years ago, and most believe that their government is losing the fight.
- Topic:
- Security, War on Drugs, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, and Mexico
38. Joint Interagency Task Force-South: The Best Known, Least Understood Interagency Success
- Author:
- Evan Munsing and Christopher Lamb
- Publication Date:
- 06-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South) is well known within the U.S. Government as the "gold standard" for interagency cooperation and intelligence fusion, despite its preference for keeping a low profile and giving other agencies the credit for its successes. It is often cited as a model for whole-of-government problem-solving in the literature on interagency collaboration, and other national security organizations have tried to copy its approach and successes. Despite the plaudits and attention, the way that JIATF-South actually operates has only received superficial analysis. In fact, few people actually understand why JIATF-South works as well as it does or how its success might be replicated.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, War on Drugs, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- United States
39. Military Justice and Impunity in Mexico's Drug War
- Author:
- Kristin Bricker
- Publication Date:
- 09-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Mexican President Felipe Calderón's military deployment to combat the country's war on drugs has been strongly criticized by international human rights groups. During Calderón's administration, over 47,337 people have been killed and thousands of human rights complaints have been filed against the military. The Inter- American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has issued several binding rulings that obligate Mexico to strip the military of its jurisdiction to investigate and try soldiers accused of violating civilians' human rights. On July 12, 2011, Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that Congress must reform the Code of Military Justice so that human rights abuse cases always fall under civilian jurisdiction.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Human Rights, War on Drugs, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- America, Latin America, and Mexico
40. Mexico's "Narco-Refugees": The Looming Challenge for U.S. National Security
- Author:
- Paul Rexton Kan
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
- Abstract:
- Since 2006, when Mexican president Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels, there has been a rise in the number of Mexican nationals seeking political asylum in the United States to escape the ongoing drug cartel violence in their home country. Political asylum cases in general are claimed by those who are targeted for their political beliefs or ethnicity in countries that are repressive or failing. Mexico is neither. Nonetheless, if the health of the Mexican state declines because criminal violence continues, increases, or spreads, U.S. communities will feel an even greater burden on their systems of public safety and public health from “narco refugees.” Given the ever-increas¬ing brutality of the cartels, the question is whether and how the United States Government should begin to prepare for what could be a new wave of migrants coming from Mexico.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Migration, War on Drugs, Bilateral Relations, and Narcotics Trafficking
- Political Geography:
- United States, Latin America, and Mexico