The concept of narco-terrorism and ıts historical development: A model of analysis on the drug-trafficking groups

Abstract

This article analyzes ‘narco-terrorism’ and the related approaches focusing on the concept. Narco-terrorism emerged as a political discourse and transformed due to the practices. From the 1990s, the concept entered into academic literature and has become the focal point of numerous studies. Firstly, the study recognizes the periodical systematic violence the major drug cartels perpetrated as ‘real narco-terrorism’. Followingly, the paper introduces a model to classify the groups that have been identified as narco-terrorists. The study further analyzes the cases of FARC and Taliban by applying the suggested model to these two groups. Accordingly, the study argues that although it entirely portends the definition of narco-terrorism, classifying the FARC categorically as a narco-terrorist organization is problematic due to its recognition as a legitimate combatant organization by the Colombian state and the international society. On the other hand, the study concludes that the Taliban is a narco-terrorist organization since it is active at every stage of drug trafficking and is not considered a legitimate organization by the international society. The paper contributes to the literature by offering an exemplary analysis to be used on the ongoing problems and terrorism-related to drug trafficking both in Turkey and identical cases around the globe.