Drug politics : dirty money and democracies / by David C. Jordan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jordan, David C.

Series:

International and security affairs series ; v. 1.

[The international and security affairs series ; v. 1]

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Drug traffic.

Money laundering.

Political corruption.

Organized crime.

Physical Description:

xv, 288 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [1999]

Summary:

Drug Politics is an enlightening new book by a man who knows this disturbing and dangerous subject. A former United States ambassador to Peru, David C. Jordan has testified before the U.S. Senate and House Foreign Relations committees and has consulted with various government security organizations. His account of government protection of the criminal elements intertwined with local and global politics challenges many of the assumptions of current drug policies.

Using examples from South America, Mexico, Russia, and the United States, Jordan shows that-- the narcotics problem is not merely one of supply and demand-- the post -- Cold War globalization process is not necessarily benign-- the democratization of formerly autocratic states does not guarantee a new era of democratic peace, -- organized crime is not confined to specific ethnic groups.

Jordan explains that the theory of supply-and-demand ignores or down-plays the fact that the drug trade depends on state cooperation and compliance to sustain multibillion-dollar levels of illicit global commerce. He exposes features of the globalization process that permit wealthy elites to operate outside accountable political processes and reveals how organized crime develops under political protection, becomes multiethnic, and forges transnational alliances. Jordan argues that many national and international financial systems are dependent on cash from money laundering, and some governments are far more involved in protecting than in combating criminal cartels.

Sure to stimulate debate, Drug Politics makes a strong case for a reexamination of American and international policies in the drug and culture wars.

Contents:

Defining democracy

The corruption of elites

Governments: from the opium wars to the Cold War

The development and spread of organized crime

The criminalization of the international finance system

Democratic transitions and organized crime: Russia and the Andean Region

Pretransition regimes and organized crime: Mexico

Consolidated regimes and organized crime: Colombia

Cultural underpinnings of modern drug consumption

Anarchy, narcostatization, and world order.

Notes:

Series statement on jacket.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-276) and index.

ISBN:

0806131748

OCLC:

41482312