Many violent groups and governments have recently turned to illicit narcotics in their entrepreneurial quests to stay viable in the post-Cold War world. It is no coincidence that many of the most violent and ongoing conflicts, from the Balkans to the Hindu Kush, from the Andes to the Golden Triangle, occur in areas of widespread drug production and well-traveled distribution routes. Kan looks at the distribution of drugs and then examines counternarcotics operations and suggests solutions to curb the drug trade's effects on contemporary conflict.

Hazy shades of war -- Drugging the battlefield : drugs as war funding -- High at war : drug use by combatants -- Narcotics and nation-building : drug trade as post-conflict complication -- Sober lessons for the future : the dynamics of drug-fueled conflicts -- Shaky paths forward : strategies and approaches in drug-fueled conflicts.