58吃瓜

IR5836 Drug Trade Politics and Policy in the Americas

Academic year

2026 to 2027 Semester 2

Further information on which modules are specific to your programme.

Key module information

SCOTCAT credits

15

The Scottish Credit Accumulation and Transfer (SCOTCAT) system allows credits gained in Scotland to be transferred between institutions. The number of credits associated with a module gives an indication of the amount of learning effort required by the learner. European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) credits are half the value of SCOTCAT credits.

SCQF level

SCQF level 11

The Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides an indication of the complexity of award qualifications and associated learning and operates on an ascending numeric scale from Levels 1-12 with SCQF Level 10 equating to a Scottish undergraduate Honours degree.

Availability restrictions

available to students studying online postgraduate programmes in IR

Module coordinator

Dr D R Hirschel-Burns

Dr D R Hirschel-Burns
This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module Staff

Dr Daniel Hirschel-Burns

This information is given as indicative. Staff involved in a module may change at short notice depending on availability and circumstances.

Module description

This module examines the politics, economics, and culture of the drug trade in the Americas. It explores how the definition of 鈥渄rugs鈥� has shifted over time, how the role of states in the trade shifted from trafficking to prohibition, and about the constellation of global drug enforcement agencies. Students will analyze the structure of drug trafficking, its diverse workforce, and how supply chains adapt to regulation and its absence. The module also considers cultural depictions of the trade, showing how 鈥渘arco entertainment鈥� shapes public opinion and policy. Key lessons emphasize that the distinction between licit and illicit drugs is socially constructed, prohibition often fails, and harmful policies persist due to entrenched beliefs and interests. Students will leave with a deeper understanding of how states choose to regulate this market or not, why most participants do not profit significantly, and the broader consequences for human wellbeing of the Americas drug trade.

Assessment pattern

Coursework = 100%

Re-assessment

Coursework = 100%

Learning and teaching methods and delivery

Weekly contact

There are no fixed weekly contact hours, but students will take part in asynchronous discussions, and optional synchronous sessions.

Scheduled learning hours

12

The number of compulsory student:staff contact hours over the period of the module.

Guided independent study hours

132

The number of hours that students are expected to invest in independent study over the period of the module.

Intended learning outcomes

  • Interpret the social and historical processes that produced a distinction between licit and illicit drugs
  • Evaluate why and how drug war policies can persist without achieving their stated objectives
  • Articulate the different kinds of market regulation strategies that could feasibly be used for the drug trade, and the social, economic, and political outcomes of each
  • Analyse how cultural production around the drug trade influences our understandings of what the drug trade is and how we should judge it ethically
  • Assess the degree of independence that drug trafficking organisations' origins have in relation to the state and why their relationship becomes more competitive or collaborative over time
  • Formulate clear policy proposals that can distinguish between realistic improvements to existing policy and existing policies that have failed