The securitization of transnational crime in ASEAN

Abstract

The paper studies the securitization of transnational crime in ASEAN since 1997. It first positions the issue of transnational crime in the international security debate through a short elaboration on the Copenhagen School and its securitization theory. it then examines whether transnational crime has been articulated in security terms in the ASEAN rhetoric. The paper demonstrates that the member states have made statements in which they make claims about security in the context of crime. Yet, their is little evidence that this has encouraged regional policy-makers to adopt common security responses. The act of securitization has therefor remained a convenient rhetorical device, given that the claims about security have not resulted in policy outcomes. This paper asserts that ASEAN has failed to implement joint actions due to domestic circumstances, its own resistance to action and institutional reforms and its inability or unwillingness to criminalize transnational crime.