MIIS Professor’s LA Times Op-Ed Criticizes West’s Approach to Discouraging Afghan Opium Trade

November 2, 2009

The ineffectiveness and sometimes counterproductive consequences of Western efforts to curb opium production are outlined clearly in a Los Angeles Times op-ed piece authored by Monterey Institute Professor Moyara Ruehsen. Professor Ruehsen’s essay argues that recent efforts to discourage opium production through eradication and crop substitution programs have been ineffective, and that the real key to reducing both heroin exports and Taliban profits from drug trafficking lies in leaving opium farmers alone and focusing on cracking down on traffickers in the border regions.

Like this story? Here are a few suggestions:

Nüket Kardam: Connecting Students to the Monterey Community through Grassroots Leadership

Professor Nüket Kardam and her students explore how grassroots leadership promotes development and social change in the Monterey Bay area.

Director of Harvard’s Carr Center to Deliver Keynote at MIIS Human Rights Fair

Dr. Charlie Clements, executive director of Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy will deliver the keynote address at the Monterey Institute’s second annual Human Rights Fair.