Choking points: opium flows, roadblocks and illicit finance in Burma’s Shan State by John Buchanan

Core team member John Buchanan recently published a working paper titled “Choking points: opium flows, roadblocks and illicit finance in Burma’s Shan State” (https://pure.diis.dk/ws/files/24279105/DIIS_WP_series_Roadblocks_and_revenues_03_Choking_points.pdf). The paper is part of the Danish Institute for International Studies Working Papers Series on Roadblocks and Revenues, which explores the role of checkpoints in the dynamics of order-making and conflict. The series is part of a collaborative effort between the Danish Institute for International Studies, the International Centre for Tax and Development and the Centre on Armed Groups.

The paper examines the challenges and opportunities faced by armed groups in gaining resource wealth from the lucrative opium trade in Myanmar’s Shan State.  The study shows a need to move beyond a focus on the presence of valuable resources and opportunities for revenue generation. Instead, it considers on-the-ground dynamics and the importance of the properties of the poppy, the physical features of Shan State and limited state capacities in accounting for pathways in which opium moves from fields to markets and the inability of many armed groups to profit from the trade.