This paper analyzes the linkages between drugs and development in Afghanistan. It argues that the opium economy—including its nexus with insecurity, warlords, state weakness, and poor governance— constitutes a central development problem for the country. The Afghan drug industry is unprecedented in its international experience in terms of its relative economic size, its penetration of the polity, economy, and society, and the insecure and lawless environment in which it has thrived. While international experience can provide some useful lessons, Afghanistan’s own largely unsuccessful experience in anti-drug efforts suggests the problem is of a different order of magnitude. Read the full report of The World Bank
