ABSTRACT

Instead of criminalizing the opium economy or seeing it as a natural occurrence, opium production must be acknowledged as a basis for political and economic exchanges, which either unites or divides relevant stakeholders. This study employs an analytical framework called embedded governance to analyze opium production in Shan State, Myanmar in a new light. An alternative reading reveals a tripartite interdependency between the central government, ethnic armed groups and rural poppy growers; and marks a significant contribution to existing research which is largely focused on the elite-bargaining between armed actors and the government. We demonstrate that the opium economy delivers basic services and higher income for rural households, expands business conglomerates and civil society, and provides incentives for ceasefire negotiations. Nevertheless, the opium economy is also a basis for land-grabbing, forced taxation and public health crisis arising from drug addiction.

摘要

不能将鸦片经济定为犯罪或将其视为自然现象，而必须承认鸦片生产是政治或经济交流的基础，政治或经济交流团结或分裂了相关的利益攸关方。本研究采用了一种称为嵌入式治理的分析框架以崭新的角度分析缅甸Shan邦的鸦片生产。另一种说法是，中央政府，少数民族武装团体和罂粟种植者之间存在三重相互依存关系；并标志着对现有研究的重大贡献，该研究主要集中于武装分子与政府之间的精英谈判。我们证明，鸦片经济为农村家庭提供了基本服务和更高的收入，扩大了企业集团和民间社会，并为停火谈判提供了动力。尽管如此，鸦片经济还是吸毒成瘾，掠夺土地，强迫征税和公共卫生危机的基础。