Drugs, frontier capitalism and illicit peasantries: towards a comparative research agenda

Goodhand, Jonathan; Ballvé, Teo; Meehan, Patrick

Abstract

A defining character of drugs-affected frontier regions is their dynamic instability and their boom-and-bust cycles. These are violent and disturbed landscapes, in which illicit drug economies play a transformative role. But not all frontiers are the same, and nor are the ‘illicit peasantries’ who inhabit the ‘narco-frontier’. In this article we explore the complex dialectical relations between frontiers, drug economies, illicit peasantries and peasant politics. In doing so we develop a new comparative framework, that provides a heuristic for studying the commonalities and differences across narco-frontiers and the mechanisms behind these differences.

Citation

Goodhand, J., Ballvé, T., & Meehan, P. (2024). Drugs, frontier capitalism and illicit peasantries: towards a comparative research agenda. The Journal of Peasant Studies, 51(4), 801-825. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2023.2258808

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 9, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Sep 26, 2023
• Publication Date: Jun 1, 2024
• Deposit Date: Oct 9, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 9, 2023
• Print ISSN: 0306-6150
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-9361
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 51
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 801-825
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2023.2258808
• Keywords: Illicit peasantries, narco-frontiers, frontier capitalism, illicit drug economies
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03066150.2023.2258808