Frontiers and Wars: the Opium Economy in Afghanistan

This paper describes the evolution of the opium economy in Afghanistan and examines the factors behind its resurgence since the fall of the Taliban regime. The historical roots of poppy cultivation are analysed with particular reference to the role of borderlands and processes of state formation and collapse. This is followed by an examination of the contemporary dynamics of the opium economy. It is argued that micro‐level opium production lies at the intersection of three economies of production, namely the ‘combat’, ‘shadow’ and ‘coping’ economies.