RT Book, Section
T1 Opium as a source of insecurity in Afghanistan
A1 González Gómez, María Paloma
A1 Calvillo Cisneros, José Miguel
A2 Berenguer López, Francisco José
A2 Castién Maestro, Juan Ignacio
AB Opium is an alkaloid that comes from the Papaver Somniferum or opium poppy with a poppy-like appearance, whose origin has not been fully specified, although the first references are found in Babylonians, Assyrians, and Egyptians, being the latter those who used it as an analgesic, to extend later through Central Asia. For most of its history, Afghanistan has played a relatively minor role in global opium production, which focused mainly on the triangle of Thailand, Laos, and Burma. The growth of opium production from the 1980s is due to three main reasons: (a) the need for funding to combat the invasion of the Soviets; (b) restrictions on this kind of crop in Turkey, Iran, and Pakistan; and (c) the failure of eradication policies that have resulted in greater poverty and insecurity.
PB Springer
SN 978-3-031-59407-6
SN 978-3-031-59408-3
SN 2948-2283
YR 2024
FD 2024-09-30
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/108526
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/108526
LA eng
NO González y Gómez del Miño, P., Calvillo Cisneros, J.M. (2024). Opium as a Source of Insecurity in Afghanistan. In: Berenguer López, F.J., Castien Maestro, J.I. (eds) The Failure of a Pseudo-Democratic State in Afghanistan. Contributions to Security and Defence Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-59408-3_10
NO Afghanistan continues to be the center of opium production in the whole world. The policies of eradication of crops undertaken from the beginning of international intervention have not delivered the expected results. The international dependency and the economic and institutional weakness of this country have been aggravated by the rise of a narco-economy that causes insecurity, poverty, corruption, and criminality. The multidimensional character that entails the production and distribution of opium comes down to a social, political, and economic issue. Opium poppy production is one of the factors directly infuencing the stability ofAfghanistan. This chapter tackles the evolution of opium and its connection with security and development and the lack of capacity to reduce production, distribution, and sales since the intervention of the United States. An alternative could lie in a model based on legalization, but it runs up against three main obstacles: legal, political, and social.
DS Docta Complutense
RD 10 abr 2025