Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability

Over the past two years, the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and the University of Pittsburgh Matthew B. Ridgway Center for International Security Studies (Center for Latin American Studies and Office of the Provost) have conducted two conferences: The first was entitled “Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability in Mexico, Colombia, and the Caribbean: Implications for U.S. National Security,” and the second was “Violent Armed Groups: A Global Challenge.” Keynote speakers for the first conference were: Bruce Bagley, Professor and Chair, Department of International Studies, University of Miami and Director, University of Miami’s Center of Latin American Studies, who addressed “What Can the Mexican State Do to Combat Organized Crime?”; and Jorge Chabat, Professor/Investigator, Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas (Center for Research and Teaching in Economics), who discussed “The Drug War in Mexico: Dilemmas and Options.” Speakers for the second conference included Dr. Robert Mandel, Professor of International Affairs at Lewis & Clark College, and John Robb, author of the book Brave New War. Dr. Mandel addressed “Global Security Upheaval: Armed Non-State Groups as Stability Enhancers,” and Mr. Robb addressed “The Bazaar of Violence.” The conference sponsors found the presentations at the two conferences to be sufficiently complementary to combine them in a series of monographs under the main title of Violent Armed Groups. Specific monographs within the series will have subtitles encompassing groups of works selected from among the presentations by the four keynote speakers and over 40 panelists. The introduction to this first monograph, “Drug Trafficking, Violence, and Instability,” will serve to: (1) introduce the series by providing general conceptions of the global security challenges posed by violent armed groups; (2) identify the issues of greatest import to scholars studying the phenomenon; and, (3) emphasize the need for the U.S. Government to understand variations in the challenges it faces from a wide range of potential enemies. In this first report, Dr. Phil Williams and Dr. Vanda Felbab-Brown provide the strategic context for the series and highlight many of the issues that will be addressed in more detail by authors of subsequent monographs in the series. SSI is pleased to offer this report in fulfillment of its mission to assist U.S. Army and Department of Defense senior leaders and strategic thinkers in understanding the key issues of the day.