A Shield Made up of Well-directed Blows: Clausewitz and the New Logic of America’s Counter-Narcotics Campaign

ABSTRACT

Given the scale of death and disruption drugs now cause, narcotics increasingly function as a strategic threat rather than a conventional crime problem. This article suggests that America’s modern counter-narcotics campaign reflects a new form of active defense inspired by Clausewitz’s theory that protection can require offensive action.  It traces how U.S. policy evolved from the limits of the Posse Comitatus Act to current military operations, targeting drug-trafficking boats.