Globalization and Crime

By: Areli Rodriguez

April 12, 2016
SOCI 1301
Professor Johnson

Globalization is the spread of businesses, industries, and philosophies throughout the

world. The boundaries separating countries are crossed in order to spread the demanded goods
and resources, connecting the most distinct countries from across the world. Several different
crimes have entered many countries due to globalization. Crimes such as drug trafficking, human
trafficking, illegal immigration, and the trafficking of environmental resources have been
common throughout countries because of globalization. The trading of goods and negotiations
between different regions dates back from the very beginning when tobacco grown in the
Americas was demanded by Britain, when opium was wanted all over the world because of its
high demand.
Drug trafficking has dominated todays modern world. Drug trafficking is the illegal trade
of drugs that involves the process of cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and selling,
violating a countrys laws. The most well known origin of drugs is in Latin American countries.
The smuggling of drugs throughout countries is dramatically increasing, with the constant
movement of drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and other drugs that are highly addictive.
Many drug sources are established throughout the world ranging from South America to Asia.
Secretive negotiations are made between wealthy drug lords without the countrys government
having any knowledge of it. The situation is different for some developing countries, Latin
American countries who have a corrupted government and have no secure control over the
society. In Mexico, wealthy drug lord El Chapo has taken such large control of the countrys
government and political standing to the extent where the president has no control over the
crimes done within it. The idea of having absolute control over the market of drugs signifies
power, especially over the consumers. Drug trafficking has negatively affected international trade
in that it violates the official taxes that must be paid for exports and imports. Globalization

facilitates international trade but also increases the difficulty of regulating global trade, he says;
traffickers and smugglers have exploited this. (Patrick, Stewart, How Globalization Affects
Transnational Crime, Council on Foreign Relations) According to this article, the exploitation
and smuggling of goods has negatively impacted traditional, international trade by violating
trading laws.
Illegal immigration flourished throughout different countries due to globalization. Illegal
immigration is the migration of people violating the countrys immigration laws. The level of
development in a country determines what kind of things enter and leave. The constant
movement of refugees and immigrants has deeply affected the global economy in terms of
employment rates and levels of consumption. A country with a high unemployment rate may
cause more citizens to leave their home country in search of better job opportunities. Another
push factor would be the conflicts the country has. War can result in refugees fleeing the country
in search for a safer, peaceful environment. Another push factor leading to immigration would be
oppression or discrimination from the large majority of the population or government, most
likely because of ones political or religious beliefs, or ones race, gender, or ethnicity. For well
developed countries, theres a constant flow of refugees because of the plentiful job opportunities
the country has to offer. On the other hand, developing or underdeveloped countries may have a
constant flow of people leaving the country, resulting in a decrease in the population.
Unfortunately, most developed countries have certain laws prohibiting the entering of illegal
immigrants without a passport or some form of identification allowing them to cross the border.
An example can be the illegal migration of Mexican immigrants from Mexico to the U.S. Since
many immigrants in Mexico cannot economically afford to fix their papers nor have an eligible
passport to stay in the U.S., their only solution is to be secretly smuggled across the U.S. border.

Although the smuggling of people to the U.S. is dangerous, many foreigners are willing to risk
their lives in order to socially and economically succeed. With more people entering a country in
search for jobs, the competition for job availability increases and becomes more intense.
Human trafficking is the unlawful movement of humans for the purpose of exploitation
and forced labor. The worldwide labor system that officially ended on December 6, 1865 was the
slave labor system, in which African Americans were exploited and forced into labor. Since
African Americans were well adapted to most sickness during that time period, several African
Americans were shipped to the North America, Europe, and South America, known as the
Atlantic Slave Trade. Slaves were seen and sold as property, meaning whenever a slave died they
were replaced by another. Another example of human trafficking would be prostitution.
Prostitution is the exploitation of humans, including men, women, or children, for sexual activity.
According to an article, prostitution is defined as The recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of
abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the
giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control
over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. (Danailova-Trainor and Belser, 2006)
Prostitution is seen as a business in that many negotiations and deals are involved over those
being exploited. Several prostitution businesses are established throughout the world, increasing
the spread and knowledge of the business of sexual exploitation. Many laws are not created in
certain countries, such as in the U.S., prohibiting prostitution because people are given freedom
and rights over their own well being. A countrys level of development causes much of the poor
class to rely on forced labor and exploitation in order to economically survive. Underdeveloped

countries have the highest prostitution rates due to the lack of job opportunities and resource
accessibility.
The exploitation of goods has also become a result of globalization. With a high demand
for foreign goods, many tourists illegally export and import goods. The trafficking of
environmental resources is a key challenge for some developing countries. Many emerging
economies are based on exporting raw materials, but under-sourced governments may lack the
capacity to regulate the exploitation of these assets. (Costa, 2016) Some examples of
environmental resources trafficking would be the poaching of animals for the products they
provide and illegal trading of environmental resources such as timber and mineral resources. The
poaching of animals such as elephants, tigers, and bears provide highly demand products. Many
businesses and industries have been established that include the selling of expensive products
such as fur, porcelain, and other high quality products. Unfortunately, the constant killing of
animals has led to the near extinction of species in certain countries. Tourists smuggle animals
from different countries in order to make profit. Another example of resource trafficking is
capturing of highly demand resources. In the past, Africa was known for its abundant source of
gold which many nations wanted to obtain. Although African countries did trade gold in
exchange for other goods, gold was smuggled in and out of the continent. The constant
smuggling of weapons is also another example of resource trafficking. Any forms of weapons are
secretly traded within countries, violating gun and trading laws. With such a large amount of
weapons being smuggled, more businesses producing weapons are established, therefore creating
a market of weapons.
Globalization has occurred throughout the world since the very beginning. In terms of
crime, globalization has allowed for crimes such as drug trafficking, human trafficking,

environmental resource trafficking, and illegal immigration to occur throughout the world. With
the increasing spread of criminal products, more crimes are becoming widely known through
globalization.

Bibliography
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