Tom Kramer

Contact details:

Phone: +31 20 662 66 08
Email: tkramer AT tni dot org

Long bio:

Tom Kramer

Researcher for TNI’s Drugs & Democracy Programme

Tom Kramer (1968) is a political scientist and with over 15-years of working experience on Burma and its border regions, which he has visited regularly since 1993.

His work focuses on developing a better understanding of the drugs market in the region as a whole, the relationship between production and consumption, and alternative development (AD). Together with the Drugs and Democracy Programme, Kramer has created a regional network of local researchers, and is also carrying out advocacy towards policy makers in the region for more sustainable and human drug policies.

Since 2005 Kramer also works on Afghanistan, with a focus onthe relationship between drugs & conflict, and the involvement of western security forces in counter narcotic activities. Apart from his work for TNI, he is also a writer and freelance consultant, specializing on ethnic conflict and civil society in Burma. He has carried out field research and written reports for a wide range of international NGOs, institutes and UN organisations.

Areas of expertise:

Drugs & conflict in Burma and Afghanistan, alternative development (AD), and harm reduction; and ethnic conflict and civil society in Burma.

Languages spoken:

Dutch (mother tongue) and English (Fluent).

Media experience:

Tom Kramer has given numerous interviews on Burma and Afghanistan for a wide range of media, including newspapers, radio (Dutch National Radio, Australian National Radio, BBC Burmese Section, Radio Free Asia), and TV (Dutch national TV, BCC World, Democratic Voice of Burma TV). He has also published various opinion articles in newspapers in the Netherlands (NRC Handelsblad, Vrij Nederland) and Asia (The Nation - Thailand).

Recent content by Tom Kramer

Why peace and land security is key to Burma's democratic future (11 May 2012)

Analysis of the social costs of large-scale Chinese-supported rubber farms in northern Burma suggests that the future for ordinary citizens will be affected as much by the country's chosen economic path as the political reforms underway.

Tackle Burma's Drugs Problem (5 Apr 2012)

Policy priorities should focus on how best to manage and reduce the many health and social harms associated with the reality of a persistent and ever changing drugs market.

Financing Dispossession (21 Feb 2012)

China’s opium crop substitution programme has very little to do with providing mechanisms to decrease reliance on poppy cultivation or provide alternative livelihoods for ex-poppy growers. Financing dispossession is not development.

Civil Society Gaining Ground (15 Nov 2011)

Local organisations have adopted different strategies towards the authoritarian government in Burma. Focussing on the dynamics of civil society Tom Kramer looks into the possibilities and risks of growing international interest in engagement with these groups.

Redefining Targets (7 Dec 2009)

Afghanistan remains the world’s largest producer of opium and has an under-reported but growing heroin-use problem. Current drug control policies in Afghanistan are unrealistic, reflecting a need for immediate signs of hope rather than a serious analysis of the underlying causes and an effort to achieve long-term solutions.

Corruption: a ‘friend’ you can’t do without in Afghanistan (30 Nov 2009)

Corruption is a part of life in Afghanistan

Poppies and poverty in Afghanistan (30 Nov 2009)

The opium ban in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province has forced some farmers to move to alternative crops, but many poor farmers have difficulties finding alternative sources of income.

Afghanistan's hidden drug problem (23 Nov 2009)

Afghanistan's drug problem is not simply one of opium production - there is a growing number of heroin addicts that the country is ill prepared to deal with.

Corruption in Afghanistan - Blame and shame (19 Nov 2009)

If the international community is serious about dealing with corruption in Afghanistan, they need to revise their own dubious practices.

Security in Afghanistan - Business as usual? (18 Nov 2009)

The security threat has made the operations of international agencies in Afghanistan more costly, but it is also one of the few booming sectors providing much needed jobs to some and lucrative profits to others. TNI staff report from Afghanistan.