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Drug Politics : Dirty Money and Democracies
Jordan, David C. Drug Politics: Dirty Money and Democracies. Univ of Oklahoma Press. October 1999, 304 pages.
 Drug Politics is an enlightening new book by a man who knows this disturbing and dangerous subject. A former United States ambassador to Peru, David C. Jordan has testified before the U.S. Senate and House Foreign Relations committees and has consulted with various government security organizations. His account of government protection of the criminal elements intertwined with local and global politics challenges many of the assumptions of current drug policies. Using examples from South America, Mexico, Russia, and the United States, Jordan shows that
- the narcotics problem is not merely one of supply and demand
- the post-Cold War globalization process is not necessarily benign
- the democratization of formerly autocratic states does not guarantee a new era of democratic peace
- organized crime is not confined to specific ethnic groups
Jordan explains that the theory of supply-and-demand ignores or downplays the fact that the drug trade depends on state cooperation and compliance to sustain multibillion-dollar levels of illicit global commerce. He exposes features of the globalization process that permit wealthy elites to operate outside accountable political processes and reveals how organized crime develops under political protection, becomes multiethnic, and forges transnational alliances. Jordan argues that many national and international financial systems are dependent on cash from money laundering, and some governments are far more involved in protecting than in combating criminal cartels.
Sure to stimulate debate, Drug Politics makes a strong case for a reexamination of American and international policies in the drug and culture wars.
About the Author
David C. Jordan served as United States Ambassador to Peru (1984-86). He is currently Professor of International Relations and Comparative Government, Woodrow Wilson Department of Government and Foreign Affairs, University of Virginia, and President of the New World Institute, Charlottesville, Virginia.
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