International People Smuggling: Globalization and Sovereignty

This essay delves into the multifaceted issue of international people smuggling, examining its intricate relationship with globalization and sovereignty. It defines key terms like globalization and sovereignty, establishing their interconnectedness with human smuggling. The essay explores how globalization, driven by increased global economic integration, has fueled the rise of international human smuggling. It investigates the permeability of national borders and the impact on national identities, particularly the anxiety created by cross-border movement and the exploitation of labor. The essay also discusses the role of international organizations, such as the United Nations, and the implementation of protocols like the Palermo Protocol, to combat the criminal activity. It argues that the ineffectiveness of existing laws and the complex nature of the issue necessitate a deeper understanding of how globalization and sovereignty interplay within the context of people smuggling, impacting the victims and the global community.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE SMUGGLING
International people smuggling
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This essay will discuss about the effect of globalization and sovereignty in relation to
international human smuggling. Globalization is defined as the process by which businesses or
firms get international acclaim and start to function on a global scale (Beck 2018). Sovereignty is
defined as the power and authority of a governing body without any external interference
(Agnew 2017). Globalization and human smuggling are interconnected to each other. An
increase in the combined global economy paved the way for international human smuggling.
According to United Nations, human smuggling can be defined as the transportation,
facilitation, attempted shipping or illicit entry of an individual across the international boundaries
by breaking the specific country’s law. Human smuggling refers to deport of individuals in
another state or country by illegal means whereas human trafficking refers to implication of force
on the individual to deport in another place. Financial gain is implied within human smuggling
and the illegal entry takes place in such a place where the individual can be neither a citizen nor
a permanent resident (Baylis, Smith and Owens 2017). The research question for this essay will
be- how is globalization, sovereignty and cross- border identity related to international people
smuggling- in association with permeability to national borders and contemporary anxiety about
national identity? Therefore, this essay will be based on the argument of the role played by
globalization and sovereignty in the international people smuggling. Therefore, from the
definitions of international human smuggling it was understood that globalization is responsible
largely for people smuggling. Deport of people across the border to other countries or continents
can often be considered as human smuggling (Graycar 2017).
To create parity between globalization and people smuggling, the article, ‘the
criminalization of human and humanitarian smuggling’ by Scott Watson has critically evaluated
the ways in which the states and countries manage international migration by the illegal ways of

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smuggling. The smugglers took advantage of the national and international boundaries,
broadband communication, and migration of people on a large volume and political and
economic disturbance have been the added as the major factors in illegal transportation of
people. Globalization had a major impact on the smuggling business due to the displaced
persons, war victims, poor and the migratory people who were finding shelter in the West to
improve their standard of living (Watson 2015).
However, in the recent years hostility and migration goes simultaneously with the
increasing movement of population. Due to lack of clarification of the particular terms of
smuggling and trafficking, the attention is deflected from the real difficulty of victims of this
phenomenon. It implies a mutual relationship between those who are willing to leave the state or
country and those who want to support the agents in deporting the victims to other country. This
mutual relationship ends when the victims reach at their destination after paying the legal fees
(Ventrella 2016).
The victims are deported to any places all over the world where globalization plays
another major role. Recently, the government and the non- government organizations worldwide
have started responding to this innovative form of slavery. In this way, sovereignty is playing its
part in the offence of human smuggling. Different anti- trafficking programs are implemented in
the countries to focus on the awareness campaign and legislative amendments. As per the US
Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000, the countries are making sincere efforts to fulfill the
basic standards to minimize human smuggling (Butler and Ratcovich 2016). Criminalization of
trafficking is regarded as one among those standards.

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As the world is connected from one corner to another and global community is emerging,
deporting of people either willingly or forcefully are becoming a common activity. The compact
nature of the world can be accountable for the process of globalization. It can be stated that
globalization has a major role to play in the process of international human smuggling and it is
the cause behind making this activity so lucrative and a rapidly increasing criminal offence
(Misbach 2015). With the increase in integrated global economy, human smuggling has found an
opportunity to thrive in different places.
From the viewpoint of sovereignty in the process of international human smuggling,
the permeability of national borders can be regarded as an important aspect. Globalization
is responsible for fostering inter- connection between commercial states to permit the
transfer of goods or human beings. The relative advantage in goods and inexpensive labor in
the third- world countries has an impact in the exploitation of human beings for economical
benefit (Stenning 2016). This has resulted in creating anxiety about the national identities of that
workforce. The individuals who are being deported from the lesser developed countries
suffer from identity crisis. They are in a dilemma to select the country where they belong.
Another negative impact that it has posed is the increase in income inequality within
national and international borders by corroding the long- built national identity (Hidalgo
2016). The economically backward and the politically disadvantaged individuals due to the
negative impact of globalization feel left out from the society, as they become a part of
immigrants (Gallagher and David 2014).
Due to the illegal nature of the international human smuggling, the agents always stay
one-step ahead of the country’s law and enforcement. The states have adopted several steps to
combat this criminal offence, but those remained ineffective. This is because the particular

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activity is not restricted to any specific boundary. International organizations such as the United
Nations, Interpol and a wide range of other NGOs have combined to fight against this battle by
utilizing their sovereignty. The UN had adopted the Palermo Protocol of the UN Convention
Against, Transnational Organized Crime (Roberts 2018). The illegal activity has been able to
gain momentum to such an extent because of the failure of the country’s ineffective laws towards
protection of the individuals (Zulyadi, Subramaniam and Kamello 2014). Thus, human
smuggling could cast a dark shadow on the past, present and future of the planet earth. The
mention of globalization and sovereignty throughout this essay has put a powerful impact on the
argument that was raised in the beginning of the essay.

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