Theorising state–narco relations in Bolivia's nascent democracy (1982–1993): governance, order and political transition. Issue 4 (3rd April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gillies, Allan
• Is Part Of: Third world quarterly. Volume 39:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 727
• Page End: 746
• Publication Date: 2018-04-03
• Subjects: Political economy of illicit drugs -- governance -- democratisation -- Latin America -- state-building; Developing countries -- Economic conditions -- Periodicals; Developing countries -- Politics and government -- Periodicals; 909.09724
• DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2017.1374839
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0143-6597

Abstract

Abstract: Conventional policy and academic discourses have generally held illicit drug economies in Latin America to be synergistic with violence and instability. The case of post-transition Bolivia (1982–1993) confounds such assumptions. Applying a political economy approach, this article moves beyond mainstream analyses to examine how the Bolivian drug trade became interwoven with informal forms of governance, order and political transition. I argue that state–narco networks – a hangover from Bolivia's authoritarian era – played an important role in these complex processes. In tracing the evolution of these interactions, the article advances a more nuanced theorisation of the relationship between the state and the drug trade in an understudied case.