Description
Panel Description:
The so-called ‘War on Drugs’ (WoD) remains an under researched agenda in International Relations. This is despite the issue intersecting across policy areas as diverse as public health through to national security, as well as the global to local dynamics involved. Increasingly, the death tolls within WoD are so high (100,000s of people in the last decade) that legal scholars, political activists, and some political parties have challenged the policies associated with the WoD, with some even arguing that the violence involved should be viewed as crimes against humanity. Against this backdrop, this panel aims to reassess the WoD in 2022, by analysing three key themes. The first of these themes is to examine the difficulties in unmaking the WoD, despite clear issues with its implementation and its apparent failure. Secondly, the panel will assess the critical role of the United States in drug diplomacy and violence as part of the WoD. Finally, the panel will look at notions of justice within the drug war, and how certain actors have sought to challenge its legitimacy. In looking at these three themes, the panel brings together five papers which focus on Bolivia, Columbia, Mexico, the Philippines, the United States, and the Western Indian Ocean. From a career development perspective, the panel brings together one Senior Lecturer, a lecturer, an independent researcher, a postdoctoral researcher, a PhD student, and is chaired by a Professor.
