Journal of Integrative International Relations
Vol. 11 No. 1 (2026): May

Representing Transnational Drug Trafficking: Narcos (2015) and the War on Drugs Narrative

Widiarti, Widiarti (Unknown)
Argenti, Gili (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
01 May 2026

Abstract

This study analyzes Netflix’s Narcos (2015-2017) as a cultural text representing transnational drug trafficking and the war on drugs narratives within International Relations frameworks. Employing qualitative interpretive analysis of selected episodes alongside International Relations and media scholarship, it reveals how the series personalizes complex structural dynamics for instance globalization-driven crime into charismatic antiheroes such as Pablo Escobar, portrays Colombian institutions as fragile and reliant on U.S. DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agents, and reproduces securitized war on drugs discourses without challenging root causes such as Global North demand. These representations simplify transnational threats, mythologize violence as spectacle, and reinforce Global North-South asymmetries in security imaginaries

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Journal Info

Abbrev

JIIR

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Social Sciences

Description

Journal of Integrative International Relations (JIIR) published by Center for Integrative International Studies Laboratory, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, State Islamic University of Sunan Ampel Surabaya in association with The Indonesian Islamic Studies and International Relations ...