Responding to Drug Trafficking: A Question of Motives

Abstract

In contrast to the history of the drug wars in Latin America, the response to organised crime in West Africa has been much less militaristic. However the response has still been coercive mobilising law enforcement to interdict illicit flows and arrest those involved in drug trafficking. This chapter engages with the risks of a law enforcement approach as a common strategy to respond to organised crime in West Africa arguing that it is driven by the motives of the actors deploying these strategies, rather than specific needs.