The Origins of Cocaines surprising conclusion turns accepted scholarly wisdom on its head: its been the persistent failure, not the absence, of state-led development efforts thats pushed poor South American peasants to cultivate drug-related crops. The book proves Cold War geopolitics and ideologies of capitalist development are just as much to blame for todays drug war chaos as northern consumers insatiable appetite for cocaine.
Teo Ballvé, Assistant Professor of Peace & Conflict Studies and Geography, Colgate University
What are the underlying causes of the surge in coca cultivation and the cocaine trade in the Andes? According to The Origins of Cocaine, abandoned colonization efforts to develop the Amazon are the key. A must-read for academics and policy makers alike, this timely and cutting-edge research provides important evidence for rethinking failed strategies to reduce the supply of cocaine, and instead promote long-term, equitable and environmentally sustainable development in some of the Andes poorest regions.
Coletta A. Youngers, Senior Fellow, The Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), Co-editor, Drugs and Democracy in Latin America, United States
The Origins of Cocaine provides a timely and fascinating account of the expansion of coca and cocaine production in the Andes Amazon. It asks, why have Peru, Colombia and Bolivia ended up with remarkably similar illicit frontier economies? By weaving together interdisciplinary debates, innovative methodological approaches, and comparative data, the book explores this question through a culturally and historically sensitive framework. A must read for anyone interested in drug crop cultivation, cocaine production and the unintended consequences of development.
Dr Thomas Grisaffi, Lecturer, Geography and Environmental Science, The University of Reading, United Kingdom
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