"This book asks how the international community can tackle the complex causes and consequences that the War on Drugs is intended to address. This question arises against the backdrop of the War on Drugs' failure to significantly reduce the scale or impact of illicit drug production and trafficking as well as the lack of consensus on the way forward in the international policy debate. Challenging conventional defense- and security-sector thinking, this book constitutes the first comprehensive, systematic effort to theoretically, conceptually, and empirically investigate the effects of the international drug control regime's interpretation as War on Drugs. The volume unpacks the dynamics behind illicit drug markets, the fluid motivations of 'warriors', and the evolving consequences for 'victims' of this war--the lines between warriors and victims often being blurred. The contributors trace the regime's interpretation as War on Drugs across vulnerable regions including South and Central America, West Africa, the Middle East and the Golden Crescent, the Golden Triangle, and Russia. They demonstrate that consequences are 'glocal,' the repercussions of transnational illicit flows being interdependent with the War's local impacts on human rights, security, development, and public health. The book further reveals how the War has influenced government positions across these regions, with significant ramifications for the international drug control regime. At a time when global order is in flux and global security at risk, critically evaluating the regime's securitization through the War on Drugs provides key insights into other global governance realms."-- Publisher website.

Introduction:Fifty years of the War on Drugs: a moment of uncertainty / Annette Idler and Juan Carlos Garzón Vergara -- Warriors, victims, and vulnerable regions: a critical perspective on the War on Drugs / Annette Idler -- Part one. The changing character of the War on Drugs: Building the global drug regime: origins and impact, 1909-1990s / Paul Gootenberg -- The international drug control regime: crisis and fragmentation / Christopher Hallam and David Bewley-Taylor -- A forward march halted: the UNGASS process and the War on Drugs / Mónica Serrano -- Part two. Between warriors and victims: the War on Drugs across vulnerable regions: South America: from acquiescence to rebellion? / Angélica Durán-Martínez -- Mexico and Central America: flexibility and frameworks / Carlos A. Pérez Ricart -- West Africa: securitized drugs as an existential threat? / John M. Pokoo and Kwesi Aning -- The Crescent Three states: which way to go? / Philip Robins -- The golden triangle: regression then reform? / Pierre-Arnaud Chouvy -- Russia: beyond the global South-North framework / Ekaterina Stepanova -- Part three. Between securitization and people-centered policies: a glocal perspective on the War on Drugs: Drug use and crime in the context of the War on Drugs / Nicolas Trajtenberg, Olga Sánchez de Ribera and Clara Musto -- Health and human rights challenges for the international drug control regime / Damon Barrett and Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch -- The 2030 sustainable development agenda and the War on Drugs / Javier Sagredo -- Rethinking drug policy metrics to move beyond the War on Drugs / Robert Muggah and Katherine Aguirre -- Transforming the War on Drugs: a pathway to change the current paradigm / Annette Idler and Juan Carlos Garzón Vergara.