Internationalisation of drug control: Challenges and limits to the sovereignty of Nation-States
The objective of this article is to provide an analysis of the internationalisation of drug control, with particular attention on the challenges and limits to the sovereignty of Nation-States in regard to criminal law and public policy. First, we are exploring the context in which the global drug prohibition regime has emerged. The emphasis is put on the way drug use has been problematized as a global issue, which has justified the implementation of an international system of drug control. Then, we are analysing the implications of this internationalisation of drug control, and describing the different forms it has taken. The results of our analysis show that Nation-States remain relatively autonomous in regard to the edict of legal norms and domestic laws. Of course, pressure at the international level might be put on Nation-States in regard to the implementation of prohibitionist measures, but the principle of sovereignty appears as a safeguard to the undue interference of international agencies. To conclude, there is no evidence of a globalisation of drug control that might produce norms that could be implemented transnationally. But we might accept the idea of an internationalisation of control in which Nation-States are collaborating and agreeing on multilateral obligations.