Formas de economia de novas guerras: o caso do narcotráfico no Afeganistão

Abstract

This work explores the Political Economy of Conflict, focusing on Afghanistan and the role of the Taliban. It discusses how armed conflicts can harm a country’s economy and give rise to substitute economic practices. The work presents the case of the Taliban in Afghanistan, a group that has become a relevant actor in a complex drug trafficking scheme, especially in the trade of opium-derived drugs, in the Middle East. The study argues that the status of “war economy” in Afghanistan was maintained even during the government implemented by the US and NATO, and the maintenance of this status allowed the establishment of sub-economic schemes. The fragility of the State allowed the group to maintain such irregular practice for a long period, without major obstacles. The work seeks to answer the question: how did the Taliban manage, in full Afghan occupation by NATO troops, to maintain lucrative activities that ensured their maintenance? This response is based on the hypothesis that Afghanistan's status as a 'war economy' has remained constant since the civil war, even during the governance

established by the US and NATO, and this continuity has facilitated the emergence of sub- economic schemes (Duffield, 2007). Through this opportunity, the Taliban is said to have become a significant actor in the substitute economic activities that arose in the country, in order to secure its subsistence, with its primary source of income being its involvement in narcotics trafficking (Rubin, 2020).