Beyond terrorism: The real impact of Afghan drugs trafficking on northern neighbours

It is clear that illicit drug trafficking affects the security of societies and states in a number of ways — Afghanistan is a prime example. But while the majority of international attention is given to the link between more traditional security threats, such as the relationship between drugs and terrorism, less attention has been focused towards what we might consider ‘new’ security threats related to the international drugs trade. Such threats include the spread of addiction, HIV/AIDs, corruption, trans‐national organised crime and the development of illegal black market economies. For Central Asia the impact of such threats is likely to pose one of the most significant challenges yet to be faced by these post communist states.