Legitimacy and modernity via policy transfer: The utility of the 2003 Afghan National Drug Control Strategy

Abstract

Very much an exercise in historical reconstruction, this article is concerned with the development of the first version of the Afghan NDCS. It is hoped that this domain of enquiry will contribute to discussions around the ‘governance of drug policy’ in this special issue of the International Journal of Drug Policy by focusing on how different policy actors operate in influencing the policy process; or parts thereof. More specifically, exploration of the formulation of the Strategy does much to help us understand not only the origins and shifting nature of ownership of drug policy within Afghanistan but also the relationship between the NDCS and the broader normative expectations of what has been referred to as the global drug prohibition regime (Andreas & Nadelmann, 2006, p. 38). As will be discussed, while indisputably the product of a process of policy transfer involving a number of non-Afghan actors – and as such arguably not always appropriate to the peculiarities of the drug market within the country – it can be argued that the 2003 National Drug Control Strategy fulfilled a useful functional role that in many ways exceeded its utility as a guiding document beyond the confines of Kabul.