Drug markets and the selective use of violence

Abstract

Drug markets and violence are often presented as inextricably linked. Yet, the use of organized violence by trafficking networks against each other and against the state is not uniform. Insights into the selective use of violence lie in disputes between crime groups over control of lucrative distribution networks and market share. Insights into the use of violence against the state lie in the efforts by criminal justice personnel to curtail the drug trade and the political goals pursued by trafficking organizations. This article discusses these arguments in the context of cocaine markets and the Americas before turning more extensively to methamphetamine in the USA and especially Japan. The latter one, understudied by scholars, offers a challenging plausibility probe for arguments addressing the selective nature of organized violence in drug markets.