Book Release: Cocaine: The Global Reach of World's Most Lucrative Illicit Drug. Edited by Sebastian A. Cutrona and Jonathan D. Rosen

Cocaine: The Global Reach of the World's Most Lucrative Drug

   

Edited by Sebastian A. Cutrona and Jonathan D. Rosen

    

Part of The Americas in World Series

Published by UNM Press and 

Distributed by Simon and Simson Schuster

This superbly edited volume provides scholars and general readers with an in-depth view of the evolution, nature, dynamics, and consequences of the global cocaine industry.

The book is being released on 4^th November 2025, an apt time to put in perspective the logical fallacy in the claims made by the United States that it is addressing the issue of Cocaine flowing into America by bombing small fishing boats to smithereens as the main culprits for cocaine use in the US.

Presenting a global perspective to cocaine trade, tracking its journey from the Coca fields in the Andes to consumers in New York, Lagos, Rotterdam, Sydney and beyond. It takes a multidisciplinary perspective with contributions from leading scholars in criminology, sociology and political science, giving a kaleidoscopic view of the expanding network of criminal organizations that connect producer countries in Latin America to consumer markets worldwide.

Complexity of drug control initiatives through force is indicated when cocaine market shifts from being dominated by a few powerful cartels to a fragmented and highly competitive underworld. The decentralisation process, though fragmented is a survival reality and certainly cannot be bombed away, this is asserted when along with decentralisation the ‘balloon effect’ creates new actors, trade routes, stop overs for deception while expanding markets as seen in case of reality in Brazil, Nigerian and Albania. Diversification is also seen in case of transhipment hubs in West Africa to nontraditional trafficking routes in Asia.

Illegal micro industries did learn from multinational corporations to streamline production, manage logistics, transportation, and financial flows across continents. Since secrecy is central, they learn to hide within shadows and blind-spots and to keep evolving, including the use of the Internet to their advantage.

The volume deepens our understanding of how the global illicit economy functions, from harvesting of coca to the street dealers in Europe and United States, it emphasizes the interconnectedness of all actors in this lucrative, dangerous market. The book is an essential resource for policymakers, scholars, and anyone seeking to understand the complexities of the global cocaine economy.

Reviews on the book:

“With cocaine production reaching record levels and expanding well beyond traditional core markets, this timely volume usefully updates our understanding of an ever-evolving illicit transnational industry. With previous research on the cocaine trade mostly focused on the Americas, especially welcome and unusual is the volume’s truly global coverage. The wide-ranging mix of contributors—representing a nice combination of veteran drug-trade analysts and younger scholars—cross not only geographic and disciplinary borders but also the borders between academia and the policy world.”

  – Peter Andreas, author of Killer High: A History of War in Six Drugs

“Cocaine: Criminals, Routes, and Markets offers a truly remarkable account of the cocaine industry’s complex global ecosystem. Its innovative, historically grounded, and nuanced approach makes it a must-read for scholars, policymakers, and students interested in this most consequential topic.”

 – Andreas E. Feldmann, author of Repertoires of Terrorism: Organizational Identity and Violence in Colombia’s Civil War

 As a contributing author for this book, I had the privilege of writing the chapter ‘The Cocaine Trade in Asia,’.

Hope you do fetch a copy for yourself and enjoy the read.

Molly Charles

 

Link to the Publisher’s Page:

Cocaine eBook by Sebastián A. Cutrona, Jonathan D. Rosen | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster India