Opium's Role in Globalization and State Power, Contemporary and Historical

Opium's Role in Globalization ans State Power, Contemporary and Historical

Opium and opiates, today and in the past, have been seen as unusual commodities in that their use and proliferation cause very obvious social problems. This shouldn't necessarily lead to any great conclusions; quite like all commodities, the social problems created are almost irrelevant when it comes to actors of all social classes who can take advantage of how its trade is organized, and on this note restrictions on the opium trade ought to be examined with economic power structures in mind as much as restrictions on cars, textiles, or grain. This may have been very obvious during the conflict between China and the British Empire, in which both were using restrictions and forced liberalization/illegal smuggling (to put things in very general terms) respectively to leverage a better balance of trade for themselves. Today, in a world in which [non-medicinal] opium is almost universally illegal, similar patterns can be found in different circumstances, as the demand for opium never really stopped. In modern Afghanistan networks of small growers pushed to opium by general insecurity (economic and otherwise), the local officials they bribe, and state and tribal leaders whos' constituencies (and thus the base of their power) depend on the opium trade's continued survival. It's no mystery why the shoestring state of Afghanistan and its American occupiers have proven unable (and often unwilling) to significantlly combat opium (Chouvy 2011). The sale and use of opium was restricted in 19th century Britain because its restriction was far more useful as a state weapon against the poor or deviant social elements, as well as arguably fighting legitimate social ills, t...

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...rialists) could bring.

Werb, D., Kerr, T., Montaner, J., Wood, E., 'The Need for an Evidence-Based Approach to Controlling Opium Production in Afghanistan', Journal of Public Health Policy. 2008, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p440-448.

This article provides a scientific perspective to the opium situation in Afghanistan. It lays out the present American actions to eliminate opium in Afghanistan, including simple destruction of the crop and efforts to provide alternatives for Afghans, both of which are largely ineffectual and proposes that making opium irrelevant through economic development, peace, and security. It provides past evidence of the failure of similar efforts to fight drugs, describes in brief the social organization of the Afghan opium trade, and provides some statistics.

Original research

Based on a conversation with a former US soldier stationed in Afghanistan.