As dramatic stories of drug trafficking dominate the coverage of smuggling in North Africa, the reality of the region’s border economies is increasingly misunderstood. But this misunderstands the role states play in the region’s smuggling economies. My research — based on over 200 interviews with smugglers, state representatives and civil society groups in North Africa’s borderlands — shows that most smuggling in North Africa is indirectly regulated by the region’s states. While narcotics and arms trafficking networks do pose a real risk of state subversion, they are a niche among a huge variety of goods smuggled in the region. As a result, unemployment in already marginalized border regions has risen and costs of living increased, while some of the most dangerous activities — such as narcotics trafficking — continue relatively undeterred.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 19, 2019 10:52 UTC