Perfect Storms, Unusual Actors, and Interdependencies

On Tuesday, February 6th, Dr. Eric Gutierrez discussed his upcoming book, Rethinking Illicit Economies in Opium and Cocaine: Policy Responses to Drug Crops in the Global South. He shared how perfect storms form when illicit crops are cultivated amidst chronic poverty, conflict, criminality, corruption, and climate change. Unusual actors include criminal entrepreneurs who, even while being hunted by law enforcement, may be the only sources of investment and employment in collapsing local economies. Amidst the complexity of survival and resilience, intended and unintended interdependencies emerge.