A THEORETICAL EVALUATION OF THE GLOBAL TRADE IN DRUGS: HOW RELIABLE IS RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY IN EXPLAINING THE MOTIVATION FOR ALL OF THE ACTORS INVOLVED IN TRAFFICKING DRUGS

This book examines the global drug trade through the lens of rational choice theory, questioning its adequacy as the sole explanation for drug trafficking. By comparing the high-risk decisions of drug mules with the calculated actions of bankers laundering drug profits, it highlights disparities in motivations and consequences within the quasi-legal-criminal hierarchy.The book critiques the justice system's inequality, where marginalized individuals face severe punishments while powerful elites evade accountability. Through a feminist analysis, it explores how neo-liberalism and drug trafficking disproportionately impact poor, Black, and minority ethnic women.While rational choice theory explains some aspects of trafficking, the study concludes that it cannot fully account for the coercion and systemic inequalities driving the actions of many traffickers, particularly those at the lower end of the hierarchy.