Drugs and (Dis)order Village Histories in Nimroz Province, Afghanistan, 2021

Collection of village histories for 50 villages in Nimroz province, Afghanistan. These village histories capture the changing social and political conditions, the drug economy and the presence of armed groups in the borderlands of Afghanistan, from the perspective of people who live there. Village histories were captured through group interviews with elder people knowledgeable about the village, using a standard list of questions, and cover the history since the 1970s through different political periods, wars and turbulent times. These village histories are complemented by a household survey carried out in the same villages (UKDA-SN-855856). They form part of wider research to develop a robust and dynamic understanding of the actors, commodities and events that shape the borderlands of Afghanistan, in particular with regards to opium production, trade and use, and associated insecurity and conflicts.

Drugs & (dis)order is a Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) project generating new evidence on how to transform illicit drug economies into peace economies in Afghanistan, Colombia and Myanmar. By 2030, more than 50% of the world’s poor will live in fragile and conflict-affected states. And many of today’s armed conflicts are fuelled by illicit drug economies in borderland regions. Trillions of dollars have been spent on the War on Drugs, but securitised approaches have failed. In fact, they often increase state fragility and adversely affect the health and livelihoods of communities and households. In light of these failures, there’s increasing recognition that drug policies need to be more pro-poor and aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the evidence base for this policy reform is patchy, politicised and contested. Drugs & (dis)order is helping to generate pro-poor policy solutions to transform illicit economies into peace economies. To do this we will: (1) Generate a robust evidence base on illicit drug economies and their effects on armed conflict, public health and livelihoods. (2) Identify new approaches and policy solutions to build more inclusive development and sustainable livelihoods in drugs affected contexts. (3) Build a global network of researchers and institutions in Afghanistan, Colombia, Myanmar and the UK to continue this work.

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