After the War on Drugs: New Approaches to Old Challenges
GIGA Forum
After the War on Drugs: New Approaches to Old Challenges
Date
01/03/2023
Start
04:00 p.m. (CET)
End
05:30 p.m. (CET)
GIGA Forum After the War on Drugs: New Approaches to Old Challenges Video
GIGA Forum After the War on Drugs: New Approaches to Old Challenges Video
In 2009, the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy declared that the “War on Drugs” had failed. Its legacies of heavy-handed, prohibitionist policies, militarisation, and human rights abuses, however, continue to plague the Global South. At the same time, several countries in the Americas and Europe are moving towards a harm-reduction approach in their domestic policies that treat illegal drugs more as an issue of public health than one of criminal policy. Some have gone even further and legalised certain drugs altogether.
Under the Joe Biden Administration, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs witnessed the first statement by the United States last year conveying the concept of “harm reduction.” The latter could create a more permissive space for drug-policy innovation in the Americas. Meanwhile, the new government coalition in Germany has vowed to legalise cannabis and has already published a document with some key reform points, which could significantly impact regulations in Europe and abroad. However, as of now, it is not clear whether and how the global “War on Drugs” will be replaced by a less harmful alternative.
This GIGA Forum discusses the changing discourses and policy stances towards illegal drugs in Europe, Latin America, as well as globally. What are the drivers of these transformations in both the Global North and the Global South? What are the obstacles to a more effective and less harmful drug policy? What are the potential alternative pathways beyond the international “War on Drugs,” and is there room for change beyond the national level?
Speakers:Catalina Niño is the Director of the Cooperation on Regional Security Program of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Maximilian Funke is researcher at the Institute of Political Science, University of Münster.
The latest issue of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs provides insights into Vietnam's strategic positioning in international trade and the relationship between money and violence in the Philippine war on drugs, and more.
The GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies conducts research on political and economic developments in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Core topics include the quality of political institutions and participation, challenges posed by conflicts and crime, and regional integration.
The Global Orders and Foreign Policies Research Programme studies the development and maintenance of regional and global orders in contemporary world politics – along with challenges to those orders – as well as examining the agency and policies of established and emergent actors and structures that contribute to these ordering processes.
The latest issue of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs provides insights into Vietnam's strategic positioning in international trade and the relationship between money and violence in the Philippine war on drugs, and more.
The GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies conducts research on political and economic developments in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Core topics include the quality of political institutions and participation, challenges posed by conflicts and crime, and regional integration.
The Global Orders and Foreign Policies Research Programme studies the development and maintenance of regional and global orders in contemporary world politics – along with challenges to those orders – as well as examining the agency and policies of established and emergent actors and structures that contribute to these ordering processes.
The latest issue of the Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs provides insights into Vietnam's strategic positioning in international trade and the relationship between money and violence in the Philippine war on drugs, and more.
The GIGA Institute for Latin American Studies conducts research on political and economic developments in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Core topics include the quality of political institutions and participation, challenges posed by conflicts and crime, and regional integration.
The Global Orders and Foreign Policies Research Programme studies the development and maintenance of regional and global orders in contemporary world politics – along with challenges to those orders – as well as examining the agency and policies of established and emergent actors and structures that contribute to these ordering processes.
