The War on Law - A Reconstruction and Legal Analysis of the United States’ Actions in the “War on Drugs” under International Law
(2026) LAGM01 20261Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- This thesis aims to examine, explore, and analyze the implications and consequences of the current Trump administration’s development of and conduct in the “war on drugs” on international law as well as the international community. To achieve this, I work under the theoretical frameworks of “law in context” and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Through a mixed methodology, which is composed of a sort of case study to adequately reconstruct the Trump administration’s approach to the “war on drugs”, and legal doctrinal research is conducted to sufficiently assess and examine the results of the reconstruction under international law.
The “war on drugs” has existed for a long time and is a simultaneously domestic and... (More) - This thesis aims to examine, explore, and analyze the implications and consequences of the current Trump administration’s development of and conduct in the “war on drugs” on international law as well as the international community. To achieve this, I work under the theoretical frameworks of “law in context” and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Through a mixed methodology, which is composed of a sort of case study to adequately reconstruct the Trump administration’s approach to the “war on drugs”, and legal doctrinal research is conducted to sufficiently assess and examine the results of the reconstruction under international law.
The “war on drugs” has existed for a long time and is a simultaneously domestic and international campaign, which has had a global impact on several states. After being re-elected, President Trump implemented new policy directives related to the “war on drugs”, which, among other things, has resulted in the United States military becoming increasingly involved in counter-narcotic campaigns. On a policy level, executive orders have established processes that allow for the designation of an international cartel or a similar transnational organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization or as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and the designation of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. President Trump also has directed the war on drugs outside of the United States, for instance, through military operations against and in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
President Trump and his administration provide justifications for these actions, arguing that they are conducting themselves pursuant to the rules of international law. In this thesis, I categorize and define these justifications and then conduct a legal review concerning their validity and legality under international law. The legal review concludes that the United States’ justifications are illegitimate and that the United States’ conduct violates several regimes under international law. In an overarching analysis at the end of the thesis, parallels are drawn between the war on terror and the current “war on drugs” and it is concluded that the Trump administration’s justifications and legal rhetoric illustrate a severe expansion of several terms and rules of international law. The analysis also explores and expands upon the colonialist legacy of the “war of drugs” as well as international law’s role in reinforcing colonial hierarchies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9233380
- author
- Muhola, Wendela LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- LAGM01 20261
- year
- 2026
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- public international law, law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, the war on drugs
- language
- English
- id
- 9233380
- date added to LUP
- 2026-06-15 12:22:40
- date last changed
- 2026-06-15 12:22:41
@misc{9233380,
abstract = {{This thesis aims to examine, explore, and analyze the implications and consequences of the current Trump administration’s development of and conduct in the “war on drugs” on international law as well as the international community. To achieve this, I work under the theoretical frameworks of “law in context” and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Through a mixed methodology, which is composed of a sort of case study to adequately reconstruct the Trump administration’s approach to the “war on drugs”, and legal doctrinal research is conducted to sufficiently assess and examine the results of the reconstruction under international law.
The “war on drugs” has existed for a long time and is a simultaneously domestic and international campaign, which has had a global impact on several states. After being re-elected, President Trump implemented new policy directives related to the “war on drugs”, which, among other things, has resulted in the United States military becoming increasingly involved in counter-narcotic campaigns. On a policy level, executive orders have established processes that allow for the designation of an international cartel or a similar transnational organization as a Foreign Terrorist Organization or as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist and the designation of fentanyl and its precursor chemicals as a Weapon of Mass Destruction. President Trump also has directed the war on drugs outside of the United States, for instance, through military operations against and in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
President Trump and his administration provide justifications for these actions, arguing that they are conducting themselves pursuant to the rules of international law. In this thesis, I categorize and define these justifications and then conduct a legal review concerning their validity and legality under international law. The legal review concludes that the United States’ justifications are illegitimate and that the United States’ conduct violates several regimes under international law. In an overarching analysis at the end of the thesis, parallels are drawn between the war on terror and the current “war on drugs” and it is concluded that the Trump administration’s justifications and legal rhetoric illustrate a severe expansion of several terms and rules of international law. The analysis also explores and expands upon the colonialist legacy of the “war of drugs” as well as international law’s role in reinforcing colonial hierarchies.}},
author = {{Muhola, Wendela}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{The War on Law - A Reconstruction and Legal Analysis of the United States’ Actions in the “War on Drugs” under International Law}},
year = {{2026}},
}