• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Fabrice Pothier"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "",
  "programs": [],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Asia",
    "Europe",
    "South Asia",
    "Afghanistan",
    "Western Europe"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy",
    "Economy",
    "Security"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media
Carnegie Europe

Opium in Afghanistan: A Reality Check

Fabrice Pothier explains the scale of the the opium problem in Afghanistan and argues for a decoupling of counter-insurgency and counter-narcotics operations.

Link Copied
By Fabrice Pothier
Published on Mar 27, 2009

Opium poses an existential threat to Afghanistan’s reconstruction: it feeds a systemic corruption and undermines governance, provides fresh funds to insurgents and criminal groups, and locks entire sections of the rural population in poverty. But to effectively tackle a problem of this scale, a counter-narcotics strategy requires functional institutions, relative government control, and a coherent reconstruction strategy. Today Afghanistan meets none of those conditions. Yet the opium problem is not going to go away without any sustained policy pressure. This is the close-to-impossible drugs policy dilemma that the international community and the Afghan people face.

This article originally appeared in LSE IDEAS Strategic Update. To read the article in full, please click here.

About the Author

Fabrice Pothier

Former Director, Carnegie Europe

Pothier, director of Carnegie Europe, is a noted commentator on European policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, transatlantic issues, and global drug policy.

    Recent Work

  • Commentary
    Can Macron Reload the Minsk Process?

      Fabrice Pothier

  • Q&A
    Where's Europe?

      Fabrice Pothier

Fabrice Pothier
Former Director, Carnegie Europe
Fabrice Pothier
Foreign PolicyEconomySecurityAsiaEuropeSouth AsiaAfghanistanWestern Europe

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Why Russia Could Escalate Hybrid Warfare Against Europe

    Mounting economic strain and battlefield losses will not necessarily make the Kremlin less dangerous. They could instead push Moscow toward a more aggressive hybrid campaign designed to test NATO’s Eastern flank, exploit allied hesitation, and fracture European resolve.

      Maksym Beznosiuk

  • Hands holding up a book on a beach
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Carnegie’s Summer Beach Reads

    Carnegie experts recommend the books that kept them turning pages—and learning along the way.


      • Steve Feldstein
      • +8

      Sophia Besch, Eric Ciaramella, Steve Feldstein, …

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Enough with the Annual NATO Summits, Already?

    Over the past ten years, NATO has held almost as many summits as it did during the entirety of the Cold War. Are they still useful, or is it time to stop holding annual meetings?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • exterior of a building
    Commentary
    Emissary
    What’s Driving the Trump Administration’s Push to Dismantle the ICC?

    The move is an escalation of its war on multilateralism.

      Stewart Patrick

  • Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order
    Report
    Europe from Scratch: Visions for a New European Order

    As the EU confronts profound challenges, several leaders have called for fundamental reform to the union’s model—but only modest, superficial changes have resulted. What if Europe really could be reimagined from zero today: What should such a redesigned European order look like?

      Richard Youngs, ed.

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.