Publication

This paper investigates the relationship between the production and trafficking of illicit narcotics, the stability of political institutions and the incidence of internal military conflict. The authors' central argument is that illegal narcotics do not directly cause civil conflict, but rather that drugs are associated with an erosion of state authority and development, which are directly related to the incidence of armed civil conflict. The empirical analysis finds drug production to be significantly and positively associated with both corruption and civil conflict.