State, Drug Policy, and Democracy in the Andes
By Eduardo Gamarra
June 1, 2005
Andean Working Paper - This paper, written by Eduardo Gamarra, the director of Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Florida International University and a highly respected political scientist, tackles one of the central challenges facing the Andean region. The drug problem is particularly serious in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru—the three countries treated in this paper—and has profound and widespread implications for institutions of democratic governance. Gamarra highlights the importance of state capacity in addressing the problem, and argues that the current policy approach is unlikely to succeed in the long term. He offers some suggestions for improving the effectiveness of drug policy in the region.