Record cocaine seizures in European ports dominate headlines. Yet drug trafficking routes are not exclusive to the Atlantic, drug production is not limited to one region, and drug wars are not only waged in the global North. Drug trafficking routes adapt constantly, seeking points of fewer risks and least resistance, whether in the Caribbean, West Africa, or elsewhere. Proceeds from drug production can prop up all sorts of violent actors. And, punitive drug policies have been pursued in different times and places. Taking such developments into consideration is paramount for not repeating mistakes, learning lessons, and finding better responses to transnational drug trafficking.
The EU-LAC Foundation and the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) invite to the Dialogue: Transnational Drug Trafficking in Global Context: Common Challenges, Comparative Insights and Lessons Learned, on 8 April, from 04:30 p.m. (CEST) to 06:30 p.m. (CEST) at the International Maritime Museum of Hamburg.
This discussion brings together experts on drug policy and drug trafficking in the Middle East, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and West Africa to analyse the characteristics, causes, and consequences of drug trafficking and drug policy across the globe. As such, the discussion contextualises the challenges of transatlantic drug trafficking, teases out commonalities and differences, and provides comparative insights into what works and what does not work in fighting drug trafficking. By looking beyond Europe and Latin America, the discussion highlights the global nature of drug trafficking, assesses emerging trends across regions, and furthers international exchanges about shared problems and effective solutions.
Speakers:
- Lucia Bird Ruiz-Benites de Lugo, Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime (GITOC)
- Gloria Lai, International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC)
- Dr. André Bank, German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
- Professor Ivelaw Lloyd Grifitth, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
- Professor Gabriel Feltran, Sciences Po
Moderator:
Prof. Sabine Kurtenbach, GIGA President (ad-interim)
Spanish and English subtitles will be available during the event.
This discussion is the closing session of the two-day Expert Workshop “Port Cities Fighting Transatlantic Drug Trafficking,” in which experts from diverse disciplines analyse, discuss, and reflect on transnational drug trafficking, port’s crucial role in maritime drug trafficking routes, and the challenges of counteracting lucrative drug economies, designing evidence-based counternarcotics measures and mitigating the negative consequences of both drug trafficking and drug policies.
This workshop is supported by the Senate of Hamburg and the "Transfer for Transformation (T4T)" project at the GIGA, funded by the Leibniz Association through its Leibniz Competition grant, T95/2021.
