From holy war to opium war? A case study of the opium economy in north-eastern Afghanistan.

Abstract

This paper examines the recent growth of the opium economy in north-eastern Afghanistan. A detailed analysis of one village in Badakshan Province reveals profound changes in the local economy and social institutions. The paper describes two major shifts in the local economy: first, the switch from wheat to poppy cultivation; and second, the shift from the livestock trade to the opium trade. It then examines the underlying causes and impacts of the opium economy on social relations in the village. Although a case study of a community living on the margins of the global economy, it is argued that these changes have important implications for international policymakers. The emergence of the opium economy in north-eastern Afghanistan is symptomatic of new and expanding forms of trans-border trade associated with the restructuring of the global political economy.