Leaders of the Americas met in Colombia recently – no, not  the recent meeting of the MCC Latin America Country Representatives in Colombia  – I’m referring to the Summit of the Americas, April 14-15 2012. This is the gathering of the Heads of Government of the countries of the Organization of America States which is held every three years.

The results of two intense days were: a bit of scandal (US Secret Service agents sent home for bad behaviour), some political positioning (on issues such as the exclusion of Cuba  and the Malvinas/Falkland Islands conflict), and no final consensus statement.

Youth paint a peace mural in CEPI (Creando Espacios de Imaginación), a project of the Hermandad en Cristo church, on the edge of Bogota. This youth Project, led by Viviana, Diana, and John Jairo Morales, facilitates artistic expression to provide alternatives to violence and other negative social pressures.

Is peacebuilding relevant in the drug debate?

Surprisingly, the only thing there seemed to be agreement on was that the current strategy in the “War on Drugs” is not working and that alternatives need to be explored.  Latin American people and governments are questioning the prohibition policy and the law-enforcement approach, and becoming resentful of the impacts of this U.S.-imposed “war on drugs” in their countries. Even the Obama administration reluctantly agreed to dialogue on the issue,  and  Canadian Prime Minister Harper admitted that the current approach is not working.

The debate about how to deal with trafficking of illegal drugs, and the associated violence, corruption, and social damage is very complex and contentious.  The purpose of this blog posting is not discuss this debate or to take a position. Rather, as I listen to the debate and read recent research on the topic, I have been struck by the way in which the fundamental principles of peace-building that we talk about in Anabaptist and peace circles are evident in this violent conflict.

Problems with the “Security as Control” Approach

One recent study uses complexity theory to examine the war on drugs, and postulates that is it not chaos, but rather two systems that are competing for resources (Lawrence, 2012). One, the mainstream dominant political and economic system, is very rigid; while the other, organized crime, is fluid and adaptable. There are also two approaches to security – one is “security as control,” and the other “security as resilience.” The “security as control” paradigm is at a disadvantage because it is not as adaptable to changing circumstances.

Another report questions efforts to control drug cartels with military force and robust law enforcement because this threatens the economic and social fabric of countries in the Americas, and just shifts the problem to neighbouring countries rather than resolving it (Abbot and Vargas, 2012).

Digging deeper

Another recent analysis uses systems thinking to examine the operation of criminal networks (McGee et al, 2011). By focusing on the dynamic relationships and interactions between key variables involved in different domains of cartel operations,  the researchers  identified the inherent systemic causal factors contributing to the problem.  The analysis shows how the activities of the cartels are related to “systemic enablers” – that is, conditions that allow these activities to flourish, such as weak police, judicial, and prison systems – as well as fertile contextual characteristics, such as unequal economic development, poor educational systems, and thus also, immigration, and violence cycles.

The report points out that the Mexican government and the Merida Initiative focus on “Low Leverage Responses,” in other words, immediate responsive actions, such as law enforcement, interdiction and extradition, and border security measures. These short-term responses require significant resources and produce minimal results. On the other hand, long-term strategies are needed that address the root causes and contexts of the problem – such as weak police, judicial, and prison systems, unequal economic development, poor education systems, and lack of fair immigration policies.

The Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy, (June, 2011) also recommends an integrated strategy rather than just a police and military control approach. In addition to the need for discussion about alternatives to an unenforceable prohibition policy, this report suggests a public health approach that includes “harm reduction” and more work at the demand-side of the drug trade. The report highlights the importance of the human aspects of the problem, from the small-scale producers and traders at one end to the dependent drug consumers on the other.

Completed mural of the vision the youth have for their neighbourhood

A Peacebuilding Approach?

Addressing root causes; the need for a just peace, not just controlled peace; looking at the problem through a public health lens rather than a public security lens; doesn’t this sound like a discussion of conflict transformation and peacebuilding?

Are there other contributions that a peacebuilding model can offer in this debate?  An emphasis on human relationships and an analysis of power dynamics? Working simultaneously at multiple levels from the community to the nation state? Striving for justpeace, “an adaptive process-structure of human relationships characterized by high justice and low violence”(Lederach)?

Something to think about…

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References

Abbott, Chris and Joel Vargas, 2012. “Rehabilitating the was on drugs: Central America and the legalization debate”, April 2012, Open Briefing, UK.

http://issuu.com/openbriefing/docs/rehabilitatingthewarondrugs

“Harper talks about the failure of the current drug war strategy,” CBC, April 15, 2012

http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/2012/04/15/pol-milewski-harper-war-on-drugs.html

“Heads of State Considering Alternatives to the Drug War” Alternet, April 12, 2012

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/154975/heads_of_state_considering_alternatives_to_the_drug_war

Lawrence, Michael, 2012. “A Complex Systems Approach to the Drug War in Mexico: Resources, Violence and Order,” Waterloo Institute for Complexity and Innovation,” Occasional Paper No. 1, ON.

http://wici.ca/new/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Final_Mike_Lawrence_OP1_Jan2012.pdf

Lederach, John Paul,  n.d. “Justpeace,” People Building Peace document, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict.

http://www.gppac.net/documents/pbp/part1/1_justpe.htm

McGee, Sibel,  Michael Joel, and Robert Edson, 2011.  “Mexico’s Cartel Problem: A Systems Thinking Perspective,” Applied Systems Thinking Institute, Analytic Services, Inc., VA.

http://www.anser.org/docs/asyst-doc/Mexican_Cartels.pdf

“Report of the Global Commission on Drug Policy,” June, 2011.

http://vancouver.ca/fourpillars/documents/WarOnDrugsGlobal_Commission_ReportJune2011.pdf