The Global Politics of Illegal Drugs (PO42011)
Module Convenor: Dr Martin Elvins
Credit Rating: 30 SCQF credits
Level: Level 4 optional module
Module Content
The module examines the global drugs problem, which encompasses study of national and international level interactions and policy-making as well as the broader political economy of the drug trade. Students will also be introduced to perspectives and literature drawn from other disciplines (e.g. law, sociology, psychology and criminology). It examines the origins of drug prohibition and the process of internationalisation that culminated in the post-1945 international drug control regime and the the three main UN drug conventions.
Theories of drug use will be examined in order to provide an understanding of why human beings are attracted to particular substances. Empirical analysis will focus on the two main dimensions of the drugs problem: the demand side and the supply side. On the demand side, the focus will be on gaining an understanding of worldwide drug use patterns and the main related policies. On the supply side analysis will focus on (1) worldwide cultivation and production patterns and the main related policies; and (2) worldwide trafficking patterns / transnational organised crime and the main related policies.
The political economy of illegal drugs will be examined via case studies (e.g. Colombia or Afghanistan), allowing consideration of the use and efficacy of alternative development policies in this context. Addressing the consequences of drug use will be examined through study of the main drug treatment policies in use and the wider framework of harm reduction. Building on the knowledge acquired the course will examine the drug legalisation debate and evaluate the factors likely to influence the future shape of drug prohibition.
Module Aims
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce students to the historical context for international drug prohibition, its evolution, and the key contemporary policy questions arising from global use of illegal drugs.
- To provide a basic introduction to theories of drug use (drawn primarily from psychology and sociology).
- To familiarise students with the main tenets of public international law in relation to drugs.
- To provide students with an understanding of contemporary worldwide patterns of consumption, production and trafficking of illegal drugs.
- To explore the political economy of the drug trade in countries affected by drug production and transhipment, using case studies (e.g. Colombia, Afghanistan).
- To familiarise students with the main policy options that exists alongside prohibition (such as harm reduction, alternative development).
- To allow students to debate the main arguments for and against the legalisation of drugs.
- To evaluate the main issues facing drug prohibition today and its likely future evolution.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Knowledge and understanding
- An understanding of how and why certain substances have become prohibited on a global basis.
- A deeper knowledge of the reasons and theories as to when and why drug use has become a global phenomenon.
- An informed understanding of the scale and nature of problems linked to illegal drugs manifested at both national and global levels, as well as knowledge of the legal frameworks that underpin prohibition.
- A broad knowledge of the policies employed to address drug demand and supply and some key national variations.
- An understanding of the political economy of the drug trade in relation to key countries affected by production and trafficking, and the role of transnational organised crime.
- Confidence to pronounce and pass judgements on the policy environment in relation to the control of illegal drugs and their impact.
Skills
- Analytical and research skills in relation to the identification, retrieval and evaluation of a range of source materials relevant to the study of the global drug phenomenon.
- An enhanced capacity for both individual and group pursuit of set tasks, via group work in seminars and through written and oral presentations.
Teaching
There will be eleven two-hour seminars.
Assessment
Assessment consists of three components:
- a 2,000 word essay (35%)
- option of a 1,000 word written issue brief or an oral presentation (15% in each case)
- a timetabled examination (50%)
Note: students who opt for presentations will be asked to deliver them in a separately timetabled period for a duration of around 15 minutes. Other group members will be invited and encouraged to attend. This period will be in the same week as the deadline for the submission of the written brief.
Indicative Reading
- Stevens, Alex Drugs, Crime and Public Health. The Political Economy of Drug Policy (London: Routledge-Cavendish, 2011)
- Barton, Adrian Illicit Drugs. Use and control, 2nd Edition (London: Routledge, 2011)
- Seddon, Toby A History of Drugs. Drugs and Freedom in the Liberal Age (London: Routledge-Cavendish, 2010)
- Klein, Axel Drugs and the World (London: Reaktion Books, 2008)
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