Drugs and (dis)order: Building sustainable peacetime economies in the aftermath of war

Speakers:

• German Espejo, Deputy Colombian Ambassador to Great Britain
• Biana Jinga, Head of Governance Security and Poverty Pillar, DFID
• Jonathan Goodhand, Professor in Conflict and Development Studies, SOAS

Wars on drugs have been declared by leaders across countries who are concerned about the impacts of illicit drugs on security, development and health. However, these militarised approaches are failing. A new approach is needed that is defined by the drug producing countries themselves, and that recognises what the trade-offs are and who bears the costs of drug policies. This approach must be based on evidence of what works and what doesn’t.

A new Grand Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project seeks to generate this evidence in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar – three of the world’s largest drug producing countries.

“Drugs and (dis)order: Building sustainable peacetime economies in the aftermath of war” is a research consortium led by SOAS, University of London with members from the UK (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London School of Economics, Christian Aid, ALCIS and PositiveNegatives), Afghanistan (Afghan Research and Evaluation Unit and the Organisation for Sustainable Development Research), Colombia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the Research Centre on Drugs and Security, Universidad de los Andes) and Myanmar (Kachinland Research Centre and the Shan Herald Agency for News). The project aims is to generate a new evidence base and build the capacity of researchers in drug affected countries so that polices can better address the challenge of transforming illicit economies.

At this launch event, speakers provide background to the wider international context and the project itself, followed by a panel discussion between researchers from Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar.