During the latter part of the 20th century, illegal drug production for Western markets has developed and consolidated in various parts of Asia. The near entirety of the heroin consumed in Europe originates in Afghanistan, with major individual and societal problems in the countries of consumption. However, the production and smuggling of heroin causes even worse problems in the production and transit countries. In the states along the smuggling routes, narcotics affect the general health conditions of the population, with severe diseases including HIV/AIDS as a result. It also contributes to crime and social conflicts, exacerbates corruption and threatens sovereignty, fuels extremism and terrorism, and plays an important role in civil wars.

Recognizing that the drug trade has grown to become a major multi-faceted security threat to large parts of the region and a challenge to the interests of the United States and Europe, the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program is conducting a multi-year research project on the trade in illicit narcotics from Central and Southeast Asia to Europe. The project focuses on the societal and political consequences of the drug trade, specifically studying four areas:

• The trafficking routes of Afghan opiates
• The link between the drug trade and terrorism and conflict
• The processes of state infiltration related to the drug trade
• The financial aspects of the drug trade.

The project also has a sub-project on countering narcotics and organized crime in the Baltic Sea region.

For more information on the project and its results, please click on the tabs in the right hand margin. The project has led to numerous publications, which are available online here. In addition, the project has developed a Database on drugs in Eurasia, which is the first of its kind in providing detailed information on drug statistics in the countries of Eurasia. Based on this information, the project staff have prepared Country Factsheets on 17 regional countries.