New Chapter: The “Non-Maghreb” and Transnational Clandestine Flows from the Sahel Region

Delighted to be included in a great ISPI monograph: ‘The Cost of “Non-Maghreb”: Unpacking the Political and Economic Costs of Disunion and Divisions.’

My chapter, titled ‘The “Non-Maghreb” and Transnational Clandestine Flows from the Sahel Region,’ focuses on clandestine flows connecting the Sahel and Maghreb. It traces current dynamics around the smuggling of commodities, drugs and arms, and the movement of migrants, terrorists and mercenaries.

The chapter next turns to the structural factors which impede efforts by Maghrebi and Sahelien states to address these flows, including the structure of illicit markets, limited intra-state coordination, the growth of uncontrolled territories, and poor state relations with border communities.

The chapter ends with a brief set of policy recommendations. It can be accessed here.

Video Seminar: Drug Trafficking and Use in Libya and North Africa

On 14 August, the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime held an hour long deep dive into drug production, trafficking and consumption trends in North Africa, with a special focus on Libya.

Presenters included Max Gallien and I, discussing our GI-TOC report “A Rising Tide": Trends in production, trafficking and consumption of drugs in North Africa,” and Fiona Mangan, detailing her USIP report “Illicit Drug Trafficking and Use in Libya: Highs and Lows.”

The Butcher’s Bill: Cocaine trafficking in North Africa

As routes used by cocaine traffickers shift to North Africa, a large cocaine shipment intercepted in Algeria has roiled the country’s security services and Algerian politics. This analysis delves into the Oran seizure, highlights the rise of cocaine trafficking through North Africa, and discusses the likely impact of the trend. Published by The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, the full article can be found here.

A Review of "Middle East Drugs Bazaar: Production, Prevention, and Consumption" by Philip Robins

Two 4×4s burned along Algeria’s desert border with Mauritania, destroyed by Algerian attack helicopters. Three heavily armed men were dead. The incident itself was unremarkable. The Algerian military routinely engages in clashes with terrorist groups along its borders—often taking a particularly kinetic approach.

But the men in the 4×4s were not terrorists. Instead they were drug traffickers, part of a flourishing narco-economy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The quantities of narcotics produced, moved, and consumed are large and increasing. Algerian authorities seized 190 tons of cannabis in the first eleven months of 2015, a sharp increase over previous years. In 2016 Iran alone accounted for “75 per cent of global opium seizures, 61 per cent of global morphine seizures and 17 per cent of global heroin seizures.” Lebanon, long a production point for cannabis and opiates, has become an amphetamine manufacturing hotspot—catering to growing consumer demand for such drugs in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states. Drug consumption has also spiked in regional conflict zones like Libya, where combatants stave off boredom with Tramadol and Captagon trafficked from Turkey and Lebanon.

Despite the dynamism of the region’s narco-economy, it has received little academic attention. In his new book, Middle East Drugs Bazaar: Production, Prevention, and Consumption, Philip Robins addresses this, providing a cross-regional snapshot of narcotics production, trafficking, and use in the Middle East and North Africa. Robins lays out three goals for his work: First, to fill the gap in scholarly literature on the geopolitics of narcotics in the Middle East and North Africa; second, to investigate how narcotics impact the region; and finally, the book investigates the “state in action,” looking both at how states develop and implement counternarcotics policy and, conversely, how nonstate groups intersect, engage, and profit from the narco-economy. Robins structures his investigation into ten country case studies divided into three sections—production spaces, consumption spaces, and transit spaces. He draws on an eclectic set of data sources, including inter-views, government documents, media reports, and literature, film, and art. Through these, he paints an encompassing picture of the region’s rapidly growing narco-economy.

The full review can be accessed on the JSTOR link here.