From: Allison Brown <broccoli1...@yahoo.com Dear Colleagues
Several sessions have been merged into a new session called: Drugs and Conflict. The session has space for one additional paper or an additional discussant (an option for people presenting papers in other sessions) and I invite expressions of interest. Hurry. The title of the session is pretty self-explanatory but here is the abstract in the program: Military Geography 2: Drugs and Conflict Where there are drugs there is conflict and civilians are stuck in the middle. The effect of eradication on insurgency is widely misunderstood and thus COIN policies downplaying eradication are widely ridiculed. Similarly, enforcement of civil laws against drugs sustain conflict in cities yet politicians are relentless in their support for ever-stronger laws and stricter penalties. This session will draw on experiences in Laos, Nepal, Afghanistan and the favela of Brazil to look at the ways that drugs add an extra layer of stress and danger to national and local peacekeeping, and the positive and negative effects of easing drug law enforcement.
