Drug Trafficking

Catalog description

This course examines the economic and social history of cocaine, heroin, and marijuana along with the evolution of the U.S. led “war on drugs” and international narcotics control efforts. With a focus on Latin America, the class will explore the political economy of the cocaine trade in Mexico, Brazil, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Andean region - Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Emphasis will be given to the contemporary phases during the late 1960s to the post-9/11 transformation in the U.S. anti-drug policies and the sponsored “Global War on Terrorism.” Questions such as: Is it possible to end drug trafficking? Has the war on drugs been successful? What have been the unintended consequences of the U.S. punitive anti-drug approach domestically and internationally? Is legalization the path to take? are addressed. Alternative policies to the drug issue will be assessed, exploring the cases of Uruguay, Portugal, and the Netherlands among others.