The Evolution of Transnational Cocaine and Heroin Flows, and the Factors that Affect Them: A Network Perspective

• In Event: Global Patterns and Shifting Institutions: Comparative Justice and Crime Trends

Abstract

This research pioneers a methodological innovation in the study of transnational cocaine and heroin trafficking by integrating multiple data sources into a comprehensive network, for subsequent social network analysis. It employs datasets from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) individual drug seizure reports, the United States International Narcotics Control Strategy Reports, and purity adjusted price correlation networks, in order to map the narcotics trade across all UN Member States. Specifically, the study constructs three cross-sectional network maps for the periods 2007-2009, 2010-2012, and 2013-2015, analysing both cocaine and heroin flows. The methodology enables a detailed examination of network dynamics by correlating social network analysis metrics with various macro and micro-level factors identified in literature as influences on drug trafficking. These factors include education, legal trade, policing, and corruption among several others, providing a multi-dimensional analysis of how such variables interact with drug trafficking routes. Conducting this analysis across multiple time frames and a broad array of countries offers original insights into the global patterns and shifts in drug trafficking. The integration of diverse and traditionally segmented data sources facilitates a novel approach that enhances the granularity of the analysis and broadens the scope of understanding the dynamics of transnational drug trafficking flows. This study aims to contribute to the broader discourse by exploring the relationships between a range of influencing factors concurrently, rather than isolating a single region or theoretical framework.

Author

• Phillip William Screen, Transcrime - Crime & tech / Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Mi)